Bhupendra Patel, the man known for his gentle personality and a protege of former chief minister Anandiben Patel is set to replace Vijay Rupani as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
“Bhupendra Patel is capable. He has a very gentle personality which surely help in this development work ahead. We believe BJP will win the upcoming elections in the state under his leadership,” Rupani told mediapersons soon after Patel was elected as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat in BJP’s Legislative Party meeting held here on Sunday. Patel is an MLA from the Ghatlodia seat, which was previously held by Anandiben Patel, who is currently serving as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, with an additional charge of Madhya Pradesh.
Patel a first-time MLA had won his seat by a margin of 117,000 votes in 2017, the largest margin in that poll defeating Congress candidate Shashikant Patel.
He has served as chairman of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and had also chaired the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA). Patel has also served as municipal councillor in Ahmedabad.
With Assembly polls in the state scheduled to take place in 2022, BJP went with Patel, a Patidar face for the Chief Minister.
In Gujarat, the Patidars are a dominant caste with a sizeable control over the electoral votes. The community also dominates the political economy with a strong hold over education, realty and cooperative sectors.
This comes a day after Vijay Rupani submitted his resignation.
Rupani took charge as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on August 7, 2016. He currently represents Gujarat’s Rajkot West as MLA. In the 2017 state election, the BJP won 99 of the state’s 182 Assembly seats, Congress got 77 seats. (ANI)