Bhupendra Patel was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Gujarat in Gandhinagar on 12th December 2022. His swearing-in ceremony took place in the presence of prominent leaders, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Among other leaders, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and chief ministers of other BJP-ruled states attended the event.
Patel undertook the oath as the 18th Chief Minister of the state. His first tenure commenced in September 2021, after replacing Vijay Rupani and his formed state government.
The Bharatiya Janta Party has seen recurring victories in Gujarat, with this being the 7th consecutive win in the recently concluded elections of the Gujarat Assembly. This time, BJP won 156 out of the 182 seats. Congress, the biggest opposition party to the BJP, won 17 seats. Aam Aadmi Party, a new entrant in Gujarat politics, garnered 5 seats.
Patel’s political journey started off in Ahmedabad’s municipal bodies, before progressing into the Gujarat Legislative Assembly where he represented the Ghatlodia constituency in 2017. He served as the chairman of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority, as well as the chairman of the Standing Committee of Amdavad Municipal Corporation from 2015 to 2017. In 2017, after winning by a record margin of 1,17,000 votes, he became a member of the Legislative Assembly, running against Shashikant Patel of the Indian National Congress.
He was once again elected as a BJP candidate from the Ghatlodia constituency in the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election, defeating his nearest rival and INC candidate, Amiben Yagnik. Before becoming the CM, he was elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party on Saturday. He then met with the governor and staked his claim to form the next state government. He won the Ghatlodia seat, part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, with the highest margin of 1.92 lakh votes in the elections.
During his first term as CM of Gujarat, Patel launched a new Gujarat IT policy, applicable from 2022-2027. It aims to enhance the overall IT sector of Gujarat and generate 1 lakh direct jobs in that sector. He also formed a committee to explore the mechanisms and possible implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.
The newly formed Gujarat Cabinet includes several ministers from the Scheduled Tribe Community, Scheduled Caste, Patidars, Brahmin, Jain, and Rajput communities. Kanu Desai, Rishikesh Patel, Raghvji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Mulu Bera, Kuber Dindor, and Bhanuben Babariya are some of the ministers of the new cabinet. Harsh Sanghvi and Jagdish Vishwakarma were sworn in as ministers of state with independent charges. The six other ministers of the state include Parshottam Solanki, Bachu Khabad, Mukesh Patel, Praful Pansheriya, Kuverji Halpati, and Bhikhusinh Parmar.
The Prime Minister tweeted, "Congratulations to Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel on taking oath as CM of Gujarat. I would like to also congratulate all those who took oath as Ministers. This is an energetic team which will take Gujarat to even newer heights of progress."
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