Amit Shah to attend Gujarat CM-to-be Bhupendra Patel's oath-taking, meet to decide cabinet

Bhupendra Patel, Member of Legislative Assembly from Gujarat's Ghatlodia constituency, was announced as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat on Sunday by the BJP. The decision to appoint Bhupendra Patel was taken in the legislative meeting called by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Gujarat party headquarters, Gandhinagar. Now, as per Republic sources, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be attending Bhupendra Patel's oath-taking ceremony as he becomes the 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat on Monday. 

Sources also revealed meetings will also be held between Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bhupendra Patel, CR Patil and Bhupendra Yadav to decide the revamp of the Gujarat government cabinet. 

Earlier, Amit Shah had taken to his Twitter handle to congratulate Bhupendra Patel on being named as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat. Shah, in his Tweet, wrote “Under your guidance and leadership, the state's continuous development journey will get new energy and momentum and Gujarat will continue to be a leader in good governance and public welfare.”

Bhupendra Patel thanks top brass for 'showing faith in him'

The Chief Minister-elect of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel, in his first media address after being nominated by the party expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Shah, BJP president JP Nadda and his predecessor Vijay Rupani for reposing faith in him, and said he would take the development journey of the state forward.

The soon-to-be CM said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP President JP Nadda have shown faith in me and I thank them for that." He added," I would also like to thank the seniors of the Gujarat wing of our party including Vijay Rupani and CR Patil." 

In a special mention to former Chier Minister of the state Anandiben Patel of whom he is a close confidant, Bhupendra Patel added, "I have always been under her blessings." 

Who is Bhupendra Patel? 

Born on July 15, 1962,  Bhupendra Patel was educated as a Civil Engineer before stepping into the world of politics. After Anandiben Patel's resignation as Chief Minister in 2016, her trusted aide Bhupendra Patel fought from the Ghatlodia constituency against Shashikant Patel of the Indian National Congress in the 2017 state Legislative Assembly elections. He defeated his opponent with a record margin of 117,000 voters, the largest for any constituency in Gujarat for the BJP in the election. 

Besides, he has also served as the chairman of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) as well as the Chairman of the standing committee for Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

(Image Credits: PTI)