Rupani to take oath as Gujarat CM again
BOOST FOR BJP Independent Rantansinh Rathod declares support to the saffron party; no decision on Himachal yet
AHMEDABAD/SHIMLA: Vijay Rupani will be Gujarat’s twenty-second chief minister and Nitin Patel will be his deputy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced on Friday, even as suspense continued over who will lead the hill state of Himachal Pradesh.
The BJP managed to retain Gujarat, PM Narendra Modi’s home state, despite a spirited performance by the Congress, and also wrested back Himachal Pradesh though its chief ministerial face, Prem Kumar Dhumal, suffered a shock defeat.
Party observer and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley announced Rupani’s name after a meeting with the 99 newly elected legislators.
An independent MLA also decided to back the BJP.
“The newly-elected leaders will soon decide and announce about the formation of the new government,” Jaitley said.
Rupani, who replaced Anandiben Patel as chief minister midway last year, was selected keeping on mind the 2019 general elections 18 months away as the party felt that bringing in a new face could halt ongoing development works.
“In the coming five years, I and Nitinbhai will try to meet the hopes, aspirations and dreams of Gujarat’s people,” Rupani said
“Voters have rejected the Congress’s politics of casteism and communalism. We both will take forward the sab ka saath, sab ka vikas mantra of PM Narendra Modi,” he added.
The BJP won 99 of the 182 seats in the assembly, 16 less than its tally in 2012. The Congress won 77 seats, a gain of 16 from the previous polls. The CM dismissed allegations that the BJP fell short in its target of 150 seats because of its “arrogance”.
“The BJP would have not been voted in if there was even an iota of arrogance,” he said.
However, in Shimla, was the party was still undecided on the new CM despite several rounds of talks between state leaders and the two central observers, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey.
They returned to Delhi on Friday after taking feedback from legislators and also met local RSS leaders.
Sources said the party is likely to announce the name of the CM in the weekend.
The Sangh has favoured the appointment of the next CM from among the elected legislators, sources said. Seraj MLA Jai Ram Thakur and health minister JP Nadda, the party’s national general secretary, are said to be the front-runners.
Voters have rejected Cong’s politics of casteism. We both will take forward the ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’ mantra of PM Narendra Modi. VIJAY RUPANI, CM designate