Gujarat CM reaches Delhi, to meet PM Modi today
Sep 20, 2021
New Delhi [India], September 20 : Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday at 4 pm.
He will also meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda at 6 pm in the national capital.
This will be Patel's first meeting with the country's top leadership, after assuming the Chief Minister's post. He reached Garvi Gujarat Bhavan at 10 am today.
During his visit, he first met President Ram Nath Kovind. His courtesy call on the President lasted about 20 minutes.
"Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, called on President Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan," tweeted Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Later, he also met Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Home Minister Amit Shah at 12 noon. He also met Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Parshottam Rupala.
Today, his meetings with Prime Minister and Home Minister are also being considered important. It is believed that during the meeting the new Chief Minister can have talks with the national president about how to work for the upcoming elections.
Bhupendra Patel was sworn in to the topmost position in the state on Monday. Gujarat Cabinet's swearing-in ceremony was held on Thursday, a total of 24 ministers took oath at Raj Bhawan in Gandhinagar.
Rupani had submitted his resignation to state Governor Acharya Devvrat on Saturday, months before the 2022 Assembly elections in the state.
With Rupani's resignation as the Chief Minister, he became the fourth Chief Minister in the BJP-led state government in the country this year to opt for this move. Earlier, former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat and Trivendra Singh Rawat tendered their resignations.
Born in Ahmedabad, Patel is a first-time MLA from the Ghatlodia seat, a post previously held by Anandiben Patel, who is currently serving as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh with an additional charge of Madhya Pradesh.
The party is counting on Patel to navigate the party through tough waters during the upcoming assembly elections in 2022. In the 2017 state election, the BJP won 99 of the state's 182 Assembly seats, Congress got 77 seats.
