Rupani takes oath as Gujarat CM, Nitin Patel as Dy CM

Vijay Rupani on Tuesday took oath as Chief Minister of Gujarat for a second stint along with his deputy Nitin Patel, eight cabinet Ministers and 10 Ministers of State.

The new council of ministers was sworn in at a grand ceremony here at the new secretariat helipad ground in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Ram Vilas Paswan, Chief Ministers of the BJP ruled states and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

It was also a sea of saffron with a score of spiritual leaders from whom Modi took blessings before the ceremony started.

The Cabinet Ministers who took oath were Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, R.C. Faldu, Kaushik Patel, Saurabh Patel, Vestabhai Vasava, Vithalbhai Radadiya, Dilipkumar Thakor and Ishwarbhai Parmar.

The Ministers of State, who were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor O.P. Kohli, were Pradipsinh Jadeja, Parthabhai Patel, Jaydrathsinh Parmar, Nanubhai Patkar, Ramanlal Nanubhai Patkar, Parsottambhai Solanki, Ishwarsinh Patel, Gopalbhai Ahir, Kishore Khanani, Bachubhai Maganbhai Khabad and Vibhavari Dave.

After the oath ceremony, Modi took to Twitter assuring the people of Gujarat that the BJP government will leave no stone unturned in further developing the state, which the party has ruled since 1995.

"Congratulations to Vijay Rupani, Nitin Patel and all those who took oath as Ministers. My best wishes to this team in their endeavour to take Gujarat to new heights of progress," Modi said.

"People from all walks of life joined the oath taking ceremony in Gandhinagar to bless the team that took oath today. We cherish these blessings and their affection," he said.

"Political leaders, Chief Ministers of various states, our esteemed NDA allies and respected former Chief Ministers of Gujarat joined the occasion, making it even more special," the Prime Minister said.

Modi, who was Gujarat's Chief Minister between 2001 and 2014, went nostalgic and shared pictures of the ceremonies when he took oath in the past.

"Attending today's oath taking ceremony in Gujarat brought back memories of the ceremonies in 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2012 when I got the opportunity to serve Gujarat as CM," he said.

"I would once again like to thank the people of Gujarat for giving the BJP this opportunity to serve the state. The bond between Gujarat and BJP is extremely special. I assure my Gujarati sisters and brothers that we will leave no stone unturned in further developing Gujarat," Modi added.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who also attended the oath ceremony here, tweeted, "Attended the oath-taking ceremony of Vijay Rupani as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. I am confident that Gujarat will continue its forward march on road to development and prosperity under the able leadership of Rupani."

Amit Shah tweeted: "I thank all the political leaders, Chief Ministers of BJP and NDA governed states for their esteemed presence. I also thank the people of Gujarat for their unparalleled love and support to BJP. Thank you Gujarat."

The BJP won in the two phased elections. The party managed to get 99 seats while the Congress managed to get 77 and its allies three.

--IANS

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