Vijay Rupani to take oath as new Gujarat CM on Sunday

Gujarat BJP chief Vijay Rupani will be the new chief minister of the state. Nitin Patel, who was considered No. 2 in the outgoing Anandiben Patel government, will be the deputy chief minister of Gujarat. The newly promoted leaders are likely to take oath to their offices on Sunday. 

The decision was taken by the BJP MLAs in a meeting on Friday in the presence of party chief Amit Shah and senior leader Nitin Gadkari as observers. 

Who is Vijay Rupani

Vijay Rupani was the minister for transport, water supply, labor and employment in the Anandiben Patel's cabinet. Rupani was elected an MLA for the first time in 2014 from Rajkot West.

Earlier, Rupani had ruled himself out of the CM race, saying he would like to work for the party organisation.

Rupani, who is a law graduate, enjoys support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is a known confidant of BJP president Amit Shah.

And he is also an RSS loyalist. He belongs to the Jain community and hails from Rajkot, the heartland of Saurashtra. While OBCs and Dalits are up in arms, making a Chief Minister from a non-OBC community can help in avoiding a tricky situation.

Read full profile: Who is new Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani: Here's everything you need to know

Who is Nitin Patel

60-year-old Nitin Patel, who has been with the BJP for over 30 years, has held cabinet portfolios for Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare, Road and Building, Capital Project in Gujarat government. 

Patel was elected to Gujarat Assembly from Mehsana in 2012. He had contested his first assembly elections in 1995.

Patel had openly expressed his willingness to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat when Narendra Modi quit the post after becoming the prime minister in 2014. However, Modi chose Anandiben as his successor. Later, Patel went on to become second-in-command to Anandiben Patel.

Patel belongs to the powerful and upset Patidar community in Gujarat. He has been the bridge between agitating Patel leaders and the government but his efforts didn't help his party and government.

Patels, who form 14% of the total population in Gujarat, moved away from the BJP after the agitation, spearheaded by their leader Hardik Patel in 2015. This got reflected in the local body elections in December last year where the BJP lost in rural areas in the state.

Read: Three factors which turned the tide for Vijay Rupani