Gandhinagar: Newly elected Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in a meeting Friday re-imposed their faith in Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani for second term as the head of the state.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the central observer for selection of the CM, announced that Rupani will remain Chief Minister of Gujarat.
The BJP in a bitterly contested election could win just 99 seats in the 182-member house. It was however enough to form a government in the state.
Earlier, it was speculated that the party due to its poor performance in the recently concluded elections might go for a change and someone else will be seleced to lead the government in Gujarat.
Besides others, the name of Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani was taking round in the media as top contender for the chair of chief minister in Gujarat. In the end however the party leadership decided to retain Rupani as CM.
Rupani was always the front-runner for the CM's post. Moreover, the BJP knew replacing Rupani at this juncture would send the signal that all is not well.
It has also been decided in today's meeting of the newly elected MLAs that Nitin Patel will continue to be Deputy Chief Minister of the state.
The swearing-in ceremony is likely to take place on December 25. Rupani, Deputy CM Nitin Patel and other cabinet members, tendered their resignations at the Raj Bhavan, paving the way for a new BJP government in the state.
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