BJP springs a surprise in Gujarat, picks first-time MLA, a Patel, as new CM

PM Narendra Modi sprang one of his biggest surprises when the soft-spoken, first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel was anointed as the successor of outgoing Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Sunday. Following the script penned in New Delhi, Rupani proposed Bhupendra’s name, which was seconded by deputy chief minister Nitin Patel in the presence of central party observers.