Amit Shah reaches Ahmedabad ahead of Bhupendra Patel swearing-in

Amit Shah. File pic

Ahead of the oath-taking ceremony of Gujarat Chief Minister-designate Bhupendra Patel later in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has arrived in Ahmedabad.

Patel greeted the union minister at the airport. Bhupendra Patel offered 'gau pooja' at Swaminarayan Temple in Ahmedabad.

The Union Home Minister on Sunday took Twitter to congratulate Bhupendra Patel on being elected as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Earlier, Patel met Vijay Rupani at the Chief Minister's residence in Gandhinagar.

Fondly addressed as 'Dada' by his supporters, Bhupendrabhai Rajnikanth bhai Patel is set to become the 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat.

The announcement of the 59-year-old leader's name as the chief minister-designate at a legislative party meeting of the BJP on Sunday came as a surprise for many as the low-profile MLA was not seen to be among the top contenders for the post.

Also read: Bhupendra Patel to take over as 17th Gujarat CM today

Bhupendra Patel on Monday called on Vijay Rupani, who resigned from the top post last week, 15 months ahead of the state Assembly polls.

Patel, met Rupani at the latter's official residence in Gandhinagar in the morning and held discussions on various issues, a release issued by the state government said.

Born in Ahmedabad, Patel is a first-time MLA from the Ghatlodia seat, a post previously held by Anandiben Patel, who is currently serving as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh with an additional charge of Madhya Pradesh.

Patel had won his maiden seat by a margin of 117,000 votes in 2017, the largest margin in that poll defeating Congress candidate Shashikant Patel.

Patel has been invited by Governor Acharya Devvrat to the oath as the chief minister today. BJP has said the decision regarding the new Gujarat cabinet will be taken later.

The party is counting on Patel to navigate the party through tough waters during the upcoming assembly elections in 2022. In the 2017 state election, the BJP won 99 of the state's 182 Assembly seats, Congress got 77 seats.

(With PTI inputs)

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