Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhupendra Patel took oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the saffron party’s 7th consecutive term in office at a grand  ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Ministers of BJP ruled states.

Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief JP Nadda were also present on the occasion.

While the Prime Minister arrived in Ahmedabad last night, CMs of BJP-ruled states including Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka were also present at the function.

The party has stormed back to power winning a record-breaking 156 of the total 182 seats of the state assembly. This is the highest number of seats any party has won after the formation of the state in 1960.

As many as 16 MLAs were also sworn in as part of the Council of Ministers (see list below).

This is Bhupendra Patel’s second term in office as he earlier took oath in September 2021 when he replaced Vijay Rupani as CM. Born on July 15, 1962, in Ahmedabad, Patel holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering from the city’s Government Polytechnic. 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. Beginning his political journey as a member of Memnagar municipality, Patel got elected as MLA from Ghatlodia constituency (Ahmedabad) in the 2017 Gujarat assembly elections.

Breaking his own record, Patel once again won from Ghatlodia constituency by a staggering margin of 1,91,000 votes in the 2022 election.

Patel 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.

List of ministers sworn in today:

Name  Constituency

Bachubhai Khabad  Devgadh Baria

Parshottam Solanki  Bhavnagar (rural)

Harsh Sanghavi  Majura

Jagdish Vishwakarma  Nikol

Rushikesh Patel  Visnagar

Raghavji Patel  Jamnagar (rural)

Balwantsinh Rajput  Sidhpur

Mukeshbhai Zinabhai Patel  Olpad

Kuvarjibhai Narshibhai Halpati  Mandvi (ST)

Kanubhai Desai  Pardi

Kuvarjibhai Bavaliya  Jasdan

Dr Kuber Dindor  Santrampur (ST)

Bhanuben Babariya  Rajkot (rural) (SC)

Mulubhai Bera  Khambalia

Bhikubhai Chatursinh Parmar  Modasa

Praful Panseria  Kamrej