After a stunning victory in Gujarat, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhupendra Patel will take oath as the Chief Minister for a second straight term in Gandhinagar on Monday.
Patel will be administered the oath as the 18th Chief Minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a function to be held at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat at 2 PM in the state capital.
Patel was sworn in as the 17th Chief Minister on September 13, 2021. The BJP retained power in Gujarat for a record seventh straight term by getting a two-thirds majority in the Assembly election.
Patel broke his own record once again to win from the Ghatlodia constituency by a staggering margin of 1,91,000 votes in the recently-held elections. This overwhelming majority of the BJP in the state represents the absolute faith of the people in Patel’s leadership.
Who’s Bhupendra Patel?
Bhupendra Patel is the Chief Minister of Gujarat and a sitting MLA from the Ghatlodia assembly constituency. Patel, who belongs to the Patidar community, holds a diploma in civil engineering, according to his affidavit in his debut Assembly election in 2017. Patel apparently got the civil engineering diploma from Government Polytechnic College in Ahmedabad, where his father Rajnikant was the principal, according to the Indian Express report.
The 60 -year-old leader became the first person from Ahmedabad city to get elected for the top job as previous chief ministers belonged to other parts of the state. He is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He is also an active member of Pandit Deendayal Library managed by RSS at Memnagar.
Patel joined a private construction company for around three years after college and later went on to start a residential project in Naranpura known as Vardan Tower with his friends.
He moved to Naranpura and then Memnagar which is on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. It was here that Patel started his political career by becoming a member of the Memnagar municipality in 1995-96.
Patel's rise to politics
It came as a shock to many when BJP picked Bhupendra Patel as the Chief Minister of Gujarat because he was relatively a low-profile politician. It was said that the then-outgoing CM Vijay Rupani had named Patel his successor.
In 2021, he became the Chief Minister when the then CM, Vijay Rupani decided to step down. He is also known as close aid of former Gujarat CM and ex-MLA of Ghatlodia Anandiben Patel.
Bhupendra Patel had never held any ministerial berth before being appointed as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, which was the exact case with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi had also never occupied any ministerial berth before being appointed as the Chief Minister.
However, he has vast experience in administration, having served as the chairman of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and as a Corporator for Thaltej ward from 2010 to 2015. He began his political career in 1995 when he was appointed as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of Memnagar municipality. He served the municipality for over a decade, becoming Chairman of the local body during 1999-2000 and 2004-2006.
He also served as the Vice Chairman of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation School Board between 2008 and 2010. Later on, he served as a Corporator from Thaltej ward from 2010 to 2015. During this tenure, he served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
In 2015, he was appointed as the chairman of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA). In 2017, Patel became a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the first time, by winning the election from Ghatlodia constituency with a wide margin of 1,17,000 votes.
As a first-time MLA, Patel won from the Ghatlodia seat with a margin of over one lakh votes, the highest winning margin in the polls. He had then defeated Congress’ Shashikant Patel.
(With inputs from ANI)