Gujarat CM name likely to be announced by today evening

Newly elected BJP MLAs of Gujarat will meet in Gandhinagar on Friday to choose the next chief minister in the presence Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and party general secretary Saroj Pandey.

Meanwhile, Jaitley is on the way to Gujarat, he will reach by 1 pm.

Meanhwile, there is a lot of specualtion that is rife ahead of a crucial meeting of the BJP to select the next Chief Minister of Gujarat. While many in the BJP maintain that Rupani may well become the CM again, the name of Mansukh Mandaviya is doing the rounds. He is a union minister and Rajya Sabha member whose term ends in April 2018.

Earlier on Thursday, Vijay Rupani resigned along with his council of ministers, paving the way for formation of a new government. Rupani, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and other ministers visited Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar and handed over their resignation letters to the Governor.

December 25 is the likely date for the swearing-in of the new ministry as it is the birthday of former prime minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

OneIndia News (with Pti inputs)