In a significant political development, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state on Friday, as Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expanded his cabinet in a ceremony held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar.
The oath ceremony witnessed the induction of several new ministers, including Swaroopji Thakor, Pravenkumar Mali, Rushikesh Patel, Darshna Waghela, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Rivaba Jadeja, Arjun Modhwadia, Parshottam Solanki, Jitendra Waghani, Praful Pansheriya, and Kanubhai Desai, according to a list released by the Gujarat BJP.
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A day before the cabinet expansion, all 16 ministers except Chief Minister Patel resigned from their posts to facilitate the reshuffle. “Resignations of all 16 ministers have been accepted by the party. Except for Chief Minister Patel, all ministers have stepped down,” a BJP source told PTI.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Patel met Governor Acharya Devvrat at Raj Bhavan to seek approval for the new cabinet’s oath-taking ceremony and briefed him on the existing cabinet’s status.
The previous Gujarat Council of Ministers comprised 17 members, including eight cabinet-rank ministers and nine Ministers of State (MoS). Under constitutional limits, Gujarat can have up to 27 ministers, or 15% of the 182-member Assembly.
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This reshuffle follows a recent political change in the state BJP, where Minister of State Jagdish Vishwakarma was appointed as the new Gujarat BJP President, replacing Union Minister CR Paatil.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel assumed office for the second time on December 12, 2022.
