The BJP-led government in Gujarat on Friday announced a new cabinet with 26 ministers, including Rivaba Jadeja, wife of Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, while state home minister Harsh Sanghavi was sworn in as deputy chief minister.
Friday’s announcement, the first major reshuffle under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, comes a day after the entire Gujarat cabinet except the CM tendered their resignations.
According to Hindustan Times messageMinisters who were part of the earlier cabinet have been asked by the party to resign to give Patel and the BJP leadership a free hand for a “strategic reset” ahead of the upcoming local polls and state assembly elections due in 2027.
However, before Friday’s announcement, the Indian Express reported that the resignations of some of the 16 ministers of the previous cabinet were not accepted, suggesting that some of them might return.
Indeed: Rushikesh Patel, Praful Panseriya, Kanubhai Desai and Kunwarji Bavaliya from the previous cabinet were named in Friday’s list. Parshottam Solanki from the previous cabinet was also retained.
Patel previously held the higher education and health portfolios while Panseriya was the Minister of Education (MoS). Meanwhile, Desai and Solanki held the power and fisheries and animal husbandry portfolios, while Bavaliya was the water resources minister.
Friday’s reshuffle is the biggest in Gujarat since September 11, 2021, when the late Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his entire ministry resigned, reportedly on the orders of a top BJP leader.
Ceremonial taking of the oath
PTI news agency reported that CM Patel had approached state Governor Acharya Devvrat on Friday morning seeking permission to hold the ceremony at Mahatma Mandir Convention Center in Gandhinagar around 11.45 am but the ceremony was slightly delayed.
The swearing-in ceremony was held shortly after noon on Friday in the presence of BJP national president JP Nadda.
