Vijay Rupani sworn in as Gujarat CM; 9 previous ministers dropped

Ahmedabad, Aug 7: Vijay Rupani was on Sunday, Aug 8 sworn in as the chief minister while Nitin Patel took oath as Deputy Chief Minister at a grand ceremony attended by top BJP leaders.

Nine ministers from the previous Cabinet, including some considered as loyalists of outgoing Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, have been dropped.

Governor O P Kohli administered the oath of office and secrecy to 60-year-old Rupani and Patel. Eight Cabinet-rank ministers, including Nitin Patel, and 16 Ministers of State were also sworn-in.

The total size of the Council of Ministers, including the Chief Minister and Deputy CM now stands at 25.

The oath-taking ceremony was held in the presence of top BJP leaders including its president Amit Shah, party veteran L K Advani, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan.

The Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana -- Devendra Fadnavis, Raghubar Das and Manohar Lal Khattar respectively -- were among the other dignitaries present on the occasion.

Former Minister of State for Home Rajnibhai Patel and Women and Child Development Minister Vasuben Trivedi, considered as loyals of the outgoing Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, have been dropped from the new Cabinet.

The others who were dropped from Rupani's Cabinet include Finance Minister Saurabh Patel, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Ramanlal Vora and MoS for Science and Technology Govind Patel.

Rupani, who has held many portfolios in the Gujarat government, is known to be a shrewd administrator. He has a good track record as both Rajkot MLA and a minister, is a trusted aide to Modi and Shah, and also shares a good rapport with the RSS.

He is also known as a man who can take along all sections, has an inclusive approach and is conciliatory in tone when dealing with problems. He has a knack of sorting out issues and he has remained uncontroversial. [Who is Vijay Rupani?]

On August 3, Anandiben Patel had submitted her resignation to Governor, after the party's parliamentary board in Delhi accepted her offer to quit the post.

On Friday, Aug 5, the BJP central leadership decided on the name of 60-year-old Rupani to replace 75-year-old Anandiben Patel as the chief minister of the state, instead of Nitin Patel who was front-runner for the post till the last moment.

OneIndia broke the news first on August 2, three days before the official announcement was made by union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, after having discussion with the BJP national president Amit Shah.

OneIndia News

(With PTI inputs)