New ministers have been sworn in to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel's cabinet.
The new cabinet of the Bhupendra Patel government in Gujarat was sworn in. 26 MLAs have been appointed ministers, including three women. Eight ministers, including the Chief Minister, will be from the Patel community. Eight are OBC, three SC, four ST, and three women. There are 19 new faces.
Harsh Sanghvi was the first to be sworn in. He has been appointed Deputy Chief Minister. Previously, he was the state's Home Minister. Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's wife, Rivaba, has also been appointed a minister.
Earlier on Thursday, all 16 ministers submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister. This reshuffle is being linked to preparations for the 2027 assembly elections in the state. The Gujarat cabinet consisted of 17 ministers, including the Chief Minister, eight Cabinet ministers and eight Ministers of State (MoS). This number has now increased to 26.
Rivaba Jadeja, wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, was sworn in as a minister at Friday's swearing-in ceremony.
Jitu Vaghani and Arjun Modhwadia were also sworn in as ministers at Friday's swearing-in ceremony.
Harsh Sanghvi represents the Majura constituency. The new cabinet includes Arjun Modhwadia (Porbandar), Jitu Vaghani (Bhavnagar West), Prafull Panseria (Kamrej), Darshan Vaghela (Asarwa), Kantilal Amritia (Morbi), Dr. Pradyumna Waja (Kodinar), and Ramesh Katara (Fatepura), along with Manisha Vakil (Vadodara City), Ishwar Singh Patel (Ankleshwar), and Naresh Patel (Gandevi).
The cabinet reshuffle is believed to be aimed at calming the resentment in some quarters against the BJP, which has been in power in Gujarat for nearly three decades.
The Gujarat Assembly elections are still two years away.
The cabinet expansion has been discussed for quite some time. The simultaneous resignation of all the ministers had already created political turmoil in the state.
Prakash Kumar Pandey