Bhupendra Patel will continue as Gujarat Chief Minister for second term

The BJP registered a historic victory in Gujarat by clinching 156 seats in the 182-member House on December 8, much higher than its tally of 99 seats in 2017.

Bhupendra Patel will continue as Gujarat CM (File picture)

Bhupendra Patel will continue as Gujarat Chief Minister for a second term. He has been elected legislative party leader in the meeting of the BJP. MLAs. The 60-year-old Patel on Friday resigned as the chief minister along with his entire cabinet to pave the way for the formation of a new government in the state after the ruling BJP won a landslide victory in the just concluded Assembly elections. When asked if UCC will be taken up in the first cabinet meeting of the new government, Patel said, "The committee has been formed. Work will be done on the basis of their recommendation."

Bhupendra Patel has been elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party: BJP MLA Harsh Sanghavi in Gandhinagar#GujaratAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/NusnNuv19g — ANI (@ANI) December 10, 2022

On Saturday (December 10), a meeting was held to decide who was going to be the next CM of the state. Patel will now continue with his second term. The meeting to pick a new leader was said to be just a formality as the party had already announced that Patel, who won a second straight term from the Ghatlodia Assembly seat in Ahmedabad district by 1.92 lakh votes, will remain the chief minister. Patel had replaced Vijay Rupani as Gujarat chief minister in September last year.

The party has already announced that the swearing-in ceremony of the new government will take place on December 12, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will be present along with chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. The BJP registered a historic victory in Gujarat by clinching 156 seats in the 182-member House on Thursday, much higher than its tally of 99 seats in 2017. Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil had earlier announced that Bhupendra Patel would continue as the chief minister and the swearing-in ceremony of the new government will take place on Monday at the Helipad Ground in Gandhinagar.

BJP swept the Gujarat Assembly election with a whopping 156 seats, which is the highest number of seats any party has won after the formation of the state in the year 1960. The Congress secured 17 seats, AAP secured 5, with 1 for SP and 3 Independent candidates. The BJP`s seventh consecutive Assembly poll win in Gujarat is its biggest since the founding of this state in 1960. In the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP has smashed all previous records of electoral performance.

(With Agency reports)