Gandhinagar, September 12: Chief Minister-elect of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel on Sunday expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president JP Nadda and his predecessor Vijay Rupani for reposing faith in him, and said he would take the development journey of the state forward.

"First of all, I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, JP Nadda and Amit Shah from the bottom of my heart. I also want to thank all the leaders of Gujarat BJP including CR Patil and the team of Vijay Rupani," said Patel in his first media address after being nominated by the party as the new Chief Minister. Also Read | Aurangabad Man Duped Of Rs 2.5 Lakh On Pretext Of Selling Him A Plot; Two Booked.

Patel said he will not let the party down for reposing its faith in him. "The faith that party showed me, I will not let it break. I will take forward the incomplete development work in the state. We will move forward by keeping the organisation along," he added. Also Read | Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Calls Upon Govt Organisations and Large Institutions To Adopt Sustainable Energy Practices.

Earlier, Gujarat BJP chief CR Patil CM-elect informed that Bhupendra Patel will take oath tomorrow. "No one else will take the oath with him as the name of Deputy Chief Minister is not decided yet," said Patil.

Patel is an MLA from the Ghatlodia seat, which was previously held by Anandiben Patel, who is currently serving as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, with an additional charge of Madhya Pradesh.

Patel, a first-time MLA had won his seat by a margin of 117,000 votes in 2017, the largest margin in that poll defeating Congress candidate Shashikant Patel. He has served as chairman of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and had also chaired the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA). Patel has also served as municipal councillor in Ahmedabad.

With Assembly polls in the state scheduled to take place in 2022, BJP went with Patel, a Patidar face for the Chief Minister. In Gujarat, the Patidars are a dominant caste with a sizeable control over the electoral votes. The community also dominates the political economy with a strong hold over education, realty and cooperative sectors.

This comes a day after Vijay Rupani submitted his resignation. Rupani had taken charge as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on August 7, 2016. He currently represents Gujarat's Rajkot West as MLA. In the 2017 state election, the BJP won 99 of the state's 182 Assembly seats, Congress got 77 seats.

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