Bhupendra Patel sworn in as 18th CM of Gujarat along with 16 cabinet ministers

Ahmedabad : Bhupendra Patel, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader took oath as the 18^th Chief Minister of Gujarat along with 16 cabinet ministers, mostly new faces, at the grand swearing-in ceremony held at Helipad Grounds in Gandhinagar in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and about 20 Chief Ministers of the BJP-ruled states on Monday.

Surat district has received the highest representation in the Gujarat cabinet with four MLAs namely Praful Panseria, BJP MLA from Kamrej, Harsh Sanghavi BJP MLA from Majura, Mukesh Patel BJP MLA from Olpad, and Kuwarji Halpati BJP MLA from the Mandvi ST constituency took oath  as Cabinet Ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The prominent faces in the last cabinet from Surat such as Vinu Moradiya and Purnesh Modi were not included in the swear-in ceremony of the cabinet ministers on Monday.

Bhupendra Patel took the oath as Gujarat CM for the second consecutive term. Patel assumed office after the former CM Vijay Rupani vacated the CM’s post. This time around, the BJP high-command has included prominent faces such as Purshottam Solanki, Kuwarjibhai Bavalia, Dr. Kuber Dindor, Banuben Babaria, Raghavji Patel, Balwant Singh Rajput, Jagdish Vishwakarma, Bachubhai Khabad as the ministers in the Gujarat Government.

The saffron party recorded a resounding win in this month’s Assembly election by bagging 156 out of 182 seats. Rivals Congress and debutants Aam Aadmi Party – expected to provide a stern test – failed to do so, winning just 16 and five seats, respectively.

Bhupendra Patel – who won his first election in 2017 from Ghatlodia – defended the seat in this round of polling – by a massive 1.92 lakh votes, earning praise from the prime minister. Patel was selected as chief minister only in September last year, replacing Vijay Rupani as the BJP sought to ward of anti-incumbency in the prime minister’s home state.