Bhupendra Patel sworn in as Gujarat CM, PM Modi attends ceremony

Bhupendra Patel was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on Monday (December 12) for a second straight term in Gandhinagar in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He is Gujarat’s 18th CM. In the recently concluded Gujarat Assembly elections, Patel won the Ghatlodia seat with the highest margin of 1.92 lakh votes in the elections.

Sixteen other ministers, including eight of cabinet rank, were also sworn in. The cabinet ministers included Kanu Desai, Rishikesh Patel, Raghvji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Mulu Bera, Kuber Dindor and Bhanuben Babariya.

Harsh Sanghvi and Jagdish Vishwakarma were sworn in as ministers of state with independent charge. Patel was administered the oath by governor Acharya Devvrat at a function held at the Helipad Ground near the new secretariat in Gandhinagar.

Top BJP leaders such as Union home minister Amit Shah, U P CM Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Karnataka CM SR Bommai, and other CMs of BJP ruled states were present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Union ministers Smriti Irani, Ramdas Athawale, and Sarbananda Sonowal also attended the ceremony.

In the just-concluded Gujarat Assembly elections, counting for which was held on December 8, the BJP won a seventh straight term by winning a record 156 seats in the 182-member House. The Congress won 17 constituencies and AAP bagged 5 seats.

Patel, 60, resigned as chief minister along with his entire cabinet on Friday to pave the way for the formation of a new government following the election results. He was elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party on Saturday, following which he met the governor and staked the claim to form the next government.

Patel won the Ghatlodia seat with the highest margin of 1.92 lakh votes in the elections. A low-profile BJP leader and the first from the Kadva Patidar sub-group to become CM, Patel replaced Vijay Rupani in September 2021.