Gujarat election results: Vijay Rupani-led BJP government to take oath on 26 December in Gandhinagar

Ahmedabad: The new BJP government in Gujarat, led by Vijay Rupani, will be sworn in on 26 December, the party said on Saturday. State BJP leaders met Governor OP Kohli on Saturday and staked claim to form a government. The party secured a simple majority in the elections by winning 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly. [caption id=“attachment_4273023” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and other BJP leaders. PTI[/caption] “The governor accepted our claim and asked us to form the government, after which we sought time on 26 December for the swearing-in ceremony,” state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar. The ceremony will be held at the Sachivalya Grounds in Gandhinagar, Vaghani said. The party’s state unit has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states as well as chief ministers of states ruled by NDA allies and all senior leaders of the party for the ceremony. Vaghani did not reveal how many ministers will take oath along with Chief Minister Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. Rupani and Patel were elected as leader and deputy leader of the BJP legislative party on Friday in the presence of central observers finance minister Arun Jaitley and party general secretary Saroj Pandey.