Senior BJP leader Bhupendra Patel — known to be a protege of former Chief Minister Anandiben Patel — will succeed Vijay Rupani as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Rupani, who was present on the occasion, endorsed the new Chief Minister, saying the party will “successfully contest the polls” under his leadership. Elections in Gujarat are due next year.

While he was elected the leader of the legislature party after a meeting, it is believed that the he was the choice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah.

Vijay Rupani stepped down on Saturday — 15 months ahead of the state elections — in a surprise move amid whispers that his handling of the second wave of Covid and his style of functioning had upset the Central leadership.

Here are some interesting facts about the new Gujarat CM.

• He is a first-time MLA who won the Ghatlodiya seat defeating Congress candidate Shashikant Patel by 117,000 votes in the 2017 assembly elections, the largest margin in that poll.
• He is fondly called ‘Dada’ by many party workers.
• Patel is a builder by profession.
• Patel has a diploma in civil engineering.
• He was the chairman of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority between 2015 and 2017