A BJP legislature party meeting of the newly-elected Gujarat MLAs will be held on Saturday in Gandhinagar to pick a new leader, who will take over as the next Chief Minister. Outgoing CM Bhupendra Patel is set for a second term, according to party insiders.
On Friday, accompanied by the BJP’s State chief C.R. Paatil and others, the CM called on Governor Acharya Devrat and tendered his resignation along with his entire Cabinet, to pave the way for the formation of a new government in the State after winning a landslide victory in the Assembly polls.
The BJP high command has appointed senior leaders Rajnath Singh, B.S. Yediyurappa and Arjun Munda as observers for the legislative party meeting in the State capital.
As soon as the poll results were announced on Thursday, Mr. Paatil had announced that the swearing-in ceremony of the new government would take place on December 12, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will be present along with the Chief Ministers of other BJP-ruled States.
“The Governor has accepted the resignation of the Chief Minister and his cabinet. Till the formation of a new government, Patel will remain the caretaker Chief Minister,” Pankaj Desai, the BJP’s chief whip in the Assembly, told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan.
“The meeting of MLAs will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the party headquarters in Gandhinagar. The Governor will be informed about the election of a new leader in the afternoon, for which we have sought time from him. The swearing-in of the new Chief Minister and his cabinet will take place as per the Governor’s instructions,” Mr Desai said.
