Bhupendra Patel takes charge as Gujarat CM

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday took charge as the 18th Chief Minister of Gujarat at the state secretariat in Gandhinagar. Along with Patel, all the 16 ministers including eight cabinet-rank ministers also took charge of their respective departments at Swarnim Sankul-1 and Swarnim Sankul-2, said an official press release.

Patel took oath as chief minister for the second consecutive term at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday following the BJP's landslide victory in the Assembly elections. Before taking over as CM on Tuesday, Patel visited the offices of all the ministers and congratulated them.

The cabinet-rank ministers are Kanu Desai, Rishikesh Patel, Raghvji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Mulu Bera, Kuber Dindor and Bhanuben Babariya. Harsh Sanghvi and Jagdish Vishwakarma are ministers of state with an independent charge. The six other ministers of state are Parshottam Solanki, Bachu Khabad, Mukesh Patel, Praful Pansheriya, Kuverji Halpati and Bhikhusinh Parmar.