By: Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit
Bhupendra Patel fondly addressed as ‘Dada’ by his supporterstook oath as the 18th Chief Minister of Gujarat for the second consecutive time which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Gujarat and many other Top leaders. Patel was administered the oath as the 18th CM by Governor Acharya Devvrat in Gandhinagar. Bhupendra Patel had in 2017 won the seat with a huge margin of 1.17 lakh votes and the BJP had announced that Patel will be given the top post again after this election. Patel has credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it and said the people of the state have rejected the anti-national elements in the Assembly election. BJP has won Gujarat under the leadership of Bhupendra Patel. Patel is a dedicated BJP party worker who rose through the ranks of state politics from the municipality level. It was a surprise choice for the top post when the BJP decided to implement a regime change, replacing the entire ministry a year before the elections. Patel has managed to remain away from the spotlight, shun controversy and, largely, get the work done – in other words, prove the man the party wanted him to be in the run-up to the elections. The BJP’s seventh consecutive Assembly poll win in Gujarat is its biggest since the founding of this state in 1960. Patel scripted history by winning the Ghatlodia constituency by a record margin of about 1,92,000 votes. Patel is known as BJP’s silent trouble-shooter in Gujarat who has his unique way with the people that he can take everyone along. In just one year, he has solved a lot of problems without any publicity.
Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah and a big win in the state is what the BJP expected.Modi has rightly said that every person of Gujarat now has a strong feeling of ownership in transforming the state. “Looking at the remarkable progress over the last 20 years, the inner voice in every Gujarati proudly proclaims ‘Aa Gujarat Mein Banavyuche’. The saffron party, which has not lost a single Assembly election in the state since 1995, is all set for a landslide victory and has been leading in 156 seats out of 182 Assembly seats. While it has been in power for the last 27 years, the party has never won an election with such a massive mandate. While addressing a press conference after the legislative party meeting, Patel said the implementation of promises made in the BJP’s poll manifesto, including the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, will be the priority of his government.
Bhupendra Patel is, however, not a new face in politics and has served as the Ahmedabad municipal councillor. Patel, who holds a diploma in civil engineering, also served as the chairman of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA).
The Patidars are a dominant caste in Gujarat, with a sizable control over electoral votes and a stronghold over education, real estate, and cooperative sectors.Before that, Patel was also the standing committee chairman of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), the largest urban local body in Gujarat, between 2010 and 2015. He is also a trustee at Patidar organizations Sardar Dham and Vishwa Umiya Foundation. The Patidars are a dominant caste in Gujarat with a sizeable control over the electoral votes. The community also dominates the political economy with a stronghold over education, realty and cooperative sectors.
The high points of Patel’s tenure included the Narmada waters reaching the farthest end of Kutch, the signing up of a contract with Vedanta-Foxconn for a prestigious semiconductor facility, Gujarat winning the bid to host the National Games for the first time, and getting to host the Defence Expo — all seen as having the blessings of the Modi government at the Centre. The party under Bhupendra Patel’s leadership won 156 seats which secured a straight second term for Bhupendra Patel as the chief minister. Further, criticised as ‘puppet CM’ by the opposition, Bhupendra Patel broke the 2002 record of Narendra Modi in BJP’s historic win in Gujarat Assembly Election 2022, Bhupendra Patel will be the best CM of Gujarat.
