Vijay Rupani will continue as the Gujarat Chief Minister, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced on Friday, 22 December. His colleague, Nitin Patel, will retain his position of the Deputy Chief Minister.
Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Rupani won from Rajkot West in the Assembly elections by a heavy margin of 53,755 votes against Congress’ Indranil Rajyaguru.
Rupani has been a devoted Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member since his school days and keeps a low profile.
Compared to other contenders for the post, what apparently weighed in favour of the 61-year-old MLA, among other things, is his proximity to BJP chief Amit Shah.
His elevation to the top post is also seen as a recognition of his Jain community, which was recently accorded minority status by the state government.