Rupani stakes claim, to be sworn in Gujarat CM on Sunday

Ahmedabad, Aug 6 (IANS) Vijay Rupani, the newly-elected leader of the Gujarat BJP legislature party, on Saturday called on Governor O.P. Kohli and staked his claim to form the government.

He was accompanied by new deputy leader Nitin Patel, BJP's Gujarat affairs in-charge Dinesh Sharma and Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parsottam Rupala.

Rupani and Patel were decided as the new incumbents on Friday.

Earlier, Rupala submitted his resignation as the state BJP president to national party president Amit Shah following his election as the leader of the party's legislative wing.

Sharma told reporters that Rupani and Nitin Patel would be sworn in as the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively at 12.45 p.m. at the Mahatma Mandir in state capital Gandhinagar.

Sharma said the party was yet to finalize the names of other ministers to be sworn in. Senior BJP leaders were holding discussions to decide the composition of the new government.

The first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel had on Monday announced her resignation through a Facepost, necessitating the change of guard in the state.