The name of MLA Bhupendra Patel has been proposed for post of chief minister of Gujarat on Sunday, following a meeting of MLAs of the BJP in Gandhinagar. The party is yet to officially announce the decision or give details of his swearing-in.
Vijay Rupani, who had led the BJP to victory in the 2017 election, resigned from the post of chief minister on Saturday. His sudden resignation came with just over an year left for the Assembly polls.
Bhupendra Patel's name was proposed by Vijay Rupani. Considered to be a surprise choice, Bhupendra Patel is the MLA for Ghatlodia. He was considered to be a protege of former chief minister Anandiben Patel, who resigned as chief minister in 2016.
Before the meeting, Nitin Patel, who had been deputy chief minister in Rupani's administration, had listed the expected "traits" of the new chief minister. Nitin Patel had been considered an aspirant for the chief minister's post after the 2017 polls and was a front-runner after Rupani's resignation.
Speaking to mediapersons hours before the meeting in Gandhinagar, Nitin Patel claimed the next chief minister will have to be “popular, strong, experienced, and the one who is known and acceptable to all". "I am not here to express my personal opinion on the possible name. The exercise to elect the next chief minister is not just a work to fill in a vacancy. Gujarat should get a successful leadership so that the state can develop, keeping all together," Nitin Patel told reporters outside his residence in Gandhinagar.
The BJP central leadership had deputed Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Joshi to meet with the MLAs and state leaders on the appointment of the next chief minister.
Earlier on Sunday, the BJP central leaders met state BJP chief C.R. Paatil, who was also considered a prospective candidate.
