Bhupendra Patel or BhupendraBhai Patel, who has been elected as the new Gujarat chief minister after Vijay Rupani handed in his resignation, is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The veteran leader is known to be the protege of Anandiben Patel, the former chief minister of Gujarat, now serving as the governor of BJP led Uttar Pradesh.

In 2017, Bhupendrabhai Patel beat Shashikant Patel of the Indian National Congress to become the MLA for the Ghatlodiya constituency in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections. Patel holds a diploma degree in civil engineering.

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His win in 2017 was a personal best and record-setting achievement as part of the Bharatiya Janta Party in that election. 

The MLA from the Ghatlodiya seat was the chairman of a standing committe of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and a member of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority.

Also Read | BJP leaders welcome Bhupendra Patel’s as new Gujarat Chief Minister

Patel’s election as the new chief minister of Gujarat comes a day after ex-CM and veteran BJP leader, Vijay Rupani tendered an abrupt resignation from the post on Saturday. What led to the resignation of the 65-year-old politician is still unclear.

Also Read: Why Vijay Rupani resigned as Gujarat Chief Minister

Patel was named at a meeting of state BJP legislators on Sunday afternoon in the presence of central observers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Joshi and party general secretary Tarun Chang.

The Gujarat-CM designate Patel belongs to the Patidar community, which forms a huge vote bank for the BJP in the state that is led by the saffron party for decades now. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for a long time and thus, the state is considered a key ground for the BJP.

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Bhupender Patel is also the trustee at Patidar organizations Sardar Dham and Vishwa Umiya Foundation. He has served as the president of Memnagagar Nagarpalika in 1999-2000, vice-chairman of School Board of AMC in 2008-10 and councillor from Thaltej ward in 2010-15.