Bhupendra Patel to continue as Gujarat CM for second term

Bhupendra Patel will remain the chief minister of Gujarat for a second term, with the newly elected BJP MLAs on Saturday selecting him as the leader of the legislative party.

Patel, along with Gujarat BJP president CR Patil, later met governor Acharya Devvrat and staked claim to form the government.

The swearing in of the new government is scheduled for Monday afternoon, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union home minister Amit Shah and the chief ministers of BJP-ruled states are expected to be present.


Earlier in the day, central observers Rajnath Singh, BS Yediyurappa and Arjun Munda attended the meeting of the legislators held at the party state headquarters, Kamalam, on the outskirts of Gandhinagar. Mardi MLA Kanu Desai nominated Patel for the legislative party chief at the meeting.

Speaking to media after his election as the leader of the house, Patel said the people of Gujarat had reaffirmed their faith in Prime Minister Modi's politics of development and that the party would continue working for the development of the state. The promises made in the party manifesto will claim priority in governance, Patel said.

Patel and state party chief Patil later left for Delhi.

For Patel (60), this is his second term as an MLA and also the chief minister. He was brought in by the party a year ahead of the assembly election, after unceremoniously removing the entire cabinet led by Vijay Rupani. The BJP dropped several local heavyweights in the election this month and registered a historic win with 156 of the 182 seats, breaking Congress' record of winning 149 seats under Madhavsinh Solanki.