Bhupendra Patel elected as new Chief Minister of Gujarat

Bhupendra Patel was elected as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat on Sunday. Patel is MLA from Ghatlodia seat. Patel (55) was unanimously elected BJP legislature party leader. His name was proposed by CM Vijay Rupani, whose resignation from the post on Saturday surprised many.

Patel won the 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections from Ghatlodia constituency, defeating Congress candidate Shashikant Patel.

Vijay Rupani (65) resigned on Saturday from the chief minister's post. It is not clear what prompted the development in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, where elections to the 182-member Assembly are due in December next year.

Rupani (65), the fourth chief minister to demit office in BJP-ruled states during the coronavirus pandemic, was sworn in as chief minister – his second stint as CM - in December 2017.

"I have resigned as chief minister of Gujarat,” Rupani told reporters after meeting Governor Acharya Devvrat and submitting his resignation letter.

"I was allowed to serve the state for five years. I have contributed to the development of the state. I will further do whatever is asked by my party,” said Rupani, who completed five years in office on August 7 this year.

He first became the chief minister on August 7, 2016, following the resignation of incumbent Anandiben Patel, and continued in the office after the BJP's victory in the 2017 Assembly elections.