Madarihat by-election campaign heats up
As the Madarihat by-election approaches on 13 November, the stalled road over bridge (ROB) at a railway crossing in Birpara has emerged as a key campaign issue.
Gujarat Chief Minister (CM) Vijay Rupani will retain his post for the second successive term with Nitin Patel as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday.
The decision to elect Vijay Rupani as the CM of the state was taken by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators in Gujarat, who met during a meeting in the presence of Central Observers, Gujarat party-in-charge Arun Jaitley and party General Secretary Saroj Pandey.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel will continue to be the second in command, after he was declared the deputy leader of the legislature party by Jaitley.
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Rupani won the election from Rajkot West and is considered to be close with BJP chief Amit Shah.
Earlier, Rupani, who has been asked to continue as caretaker chief minister till a new government is sworn in, was being preferred for the post of Gujarat CM by BJP chief Amit Shah.
Shah had earlier said during the campaign that the party was fighting the election under Rupani and Nitin Patel.
In the recently concluded polls, BJP retained power by winning 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly, while the Congress bagged 77. Six seats were won by others
Earlier, Rupani had said the party’s parliamentary board will take the final decision.
Vijay Rupani is likely to be sworn-in on December 25 as it is the birthday of former prime minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The BJP had registered a sixth straight Assembly poll win in the key western state on December 18, winning 99 seats in the 182-member House.
Though the Congress performed its best in many years, winning 77 seats, it could not unseat the BJP.
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