Gujarat: 24 ministers sworn into new CM Bhupendra Patel's Cabinet
On Thursday, 24 ministers were sworn into the new Cabinet of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The ministers were administered the oath of office by Governor Acharya Devvrat. Patel's Cabinet was to take oath Wednesday, however, the swearing-in was later postponed to Thursday. Notably, Gujarat Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi had resigned ahead of the swearing-in ceremony to join the Patel government himself.
Who are the ministers sworn in today?
Devvrat administered the oath to 24 ministers at Raj Bhawan. Kanubhai Desai, Kiritsinh Rana, Naresh Patel, Pradip Parmar, Arjunsinh Chauhan, Rajendra Trivedi, Jitu Vaghani, Rushikesh Patel, Purnesh Modi, and Raghavji Patel were sworn in as Cabinet ministers. Harsh Sanghvi, Jagdish Panchal, Brijesh Merja, Jitu Choudhary, and Manisha Vakil took oaths as ministers of state with independent charge. The Cabinet notably has all new faces.
Deputy CM Nitin Patel, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama dropped
The crisis in Gujarat began with Vijay Rupani's surprise exit as CM last week, following which, Patel took office. Patel had earlier said that no old faces will find a place in the new Cabinet. At least two senior BJP leaders—Deputy CM Nitin Patel and Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama—are not on the Cabinet. The party is reportedly trying to pacify these disgruntled leaders.
Who is Nitin Patel?
Gujarat Deputy CM Nitin Patel was one of the front runners for the post of CM after Rupani's resignation. However, he was taken by surprise when first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel was announced as the new CM instead of him.
Bhupendra Patel took oath as Gujarat CM Monday
A first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel was named the successor of Rupani as Gujarat CM on Sunday. A day later, Patel took the oath as 17th CM of Gujarat. The 59-year-old represents the Ghatlodia seat and is an influential Patidar leader. This came after reports that the BJP is trying to woo the Patidar community—which constitutes 13% of the population—considering the 2022 Assembly elections.
