THE NEWSMAN OF INDIA.COM
BJP Consecutive 5th term begins as
Vijay Rupani, 61, took oath as Gujarat Chief Minister just now, in a ceremony that doubled as a massive show of strength by the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended, as did party chief Amit Shah and 18 BJP chief ministers. Key ally Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was also there along with his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi.

Vijay Rupani was sworn in along with 19 other ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. The BJP has opted to repeat the duo despite a lower margin of victory in Gujarat in the assembly elections, results for which were announced last week. 

11 ministers from the outgoing cabinet have been retained, while there are nine new faces, with the party making its selection carefully ahead of the 2019 national election, when PM Modi will seek a second term. The BJP hopes to repeat its sweep of the state; in 2014, it had won all Gujarat’s 26 parliament seats. 

Among the minsters who took oath today, seven are from Saurashtra, the region where the BJP lost the most in this time’s assembly elections, six from north Gujarat, five from south Gujarat and two from central Gujarat.