Ahmedabad: All ministers in the cabinet except Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel resigned from their posts on Thursday. The new cabinet will now be sworn in on Friday. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 11:30 am at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. Governor Acharya Devvrat will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers.
“The expansion of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s cabinet will take place at 11:30 am on Friday,”the government statement said.” The Gujarat cabinet, led by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, will be expanded on Friday, officials said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda are expected to attend the meeting.
According to the report, 10 new faces may get a chance in the Gujarat cabinet expansion, while half of the existing ministers may be on leave.
The Gujarat cabinet had a total of 17 ministers, including Chief Minister Patel, including eight cabinet-level ministers and as many ministers of state.
Gujarat, which has 182-member assembly, could have 27 ministers or 15 per cent of the total strength of the House.
Recently, a high-level meeting was held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, in which Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister CR Patil and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel discussed changes in the state cabinet. BJP president JP Nadda, who will arrive in Gujarat on Thursday evening, will oversee the cabinet reshuffle. After this, he will hold several meetings with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, former BJP state president CR Patil and other senior party leaders on the issue of cabinet expansion. According to party sources, the bench will discuss the Gujarat cabinet reshuffle and other major organisational matters in the state.
Sources said the purpose of Nadda’s visit is to give final approval to the reshuffle and review the party’s strategy to strengthen its position in Gujarat.
Changes in the government after the organization
Earlier this month, minister of state in the Gujarat government Jagdish Vishwakarma was made BJP state president, replacing Union minister CR Patil. After the change in organisation, the BJP is now going to reshuffle the state government. The BJP is eyeing a new political equation through cabinet expansion.
Assembly elections are to be held in Gujarat in 2027. Before that, the BJP will try to test the new equations in the state. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) under the leadership of young leader Gopal Italia is making its inroads in the BJP’s Patidar stronghold
