Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attended the grand oath ceremony of Gujarat state chief Bhupendra Patel.
The ceremony was held at the Helipad Ground inside the new secretariat complex in Gandhinagar at around 2 p.m. (IST), in the presence of key ministers, including Federal Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, and others.
Along with Patel, several BJP leaders, such as Harsh Sanghavi and Jagdish Vishwakarma, swore oaths as ministers in the Gujarat Cabinet.
BJP national President J.P. Nadda also reached Gandhinagar to attend the grand ceremony.
Detailed preparations were made in terms of infrastructure and the ceremony. A special arrangement was also made for 200 religious gurus who have been specially invited to attend the ceremony.
Members from all communities have also been invited for the ceremony, although Patidars, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and women were given priority.
Meanwhile, Modi reached Ahmedabad city on Sunday night, where he received a rousing welcome.
In the recently held state assembly polls, the main opposition party, Congress, managed to win only 17 seats, much lower than the previous elections, in which it won 77 seats. At the same time, Delhi's governing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) opened its account in the state with five seats.
Bhupendra Patel took oath as the 18th state chief of Gujarat on Monday. In September last year, he replaced his party's Vijay Rupani.