Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad, Oct 17: In a significant cabinet reshuffle ahead of the 2027 Gujarat assembly elections, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday inducted 19 new ministers into his council, while retaining six from his previous team. The total strength of the council has now risen from 17 to 26 ministers, including the CM himself, inching close to the maximum allowed 27 ministers in the 182-member assembly.
Among the notable changes, Harsh Sanghavi—previously Minister of State for Home—was promoted to the post of Deputy Chief Minister, marking the return of this position in Gujarat after four years. The Deputy CM post had been discontinued in 2021 following Nitin Patel’s tenure under former CM Vijay Rupani.
The new team also includes Rivaba Jadeja, wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who took oath as a Minister of State. Her family, including Ravindra and their daughter, attended the ceremony.
Other prominent inductees include Jitu Vaghani, Manisha Vakil, and Arjun Modhwadia, the latter being a former Gujarat Congress leader who switched allegiance to the BJP earlier this year and was sworn in as a cabinet minister.
Of the six ministers retained from the earlier cabinet, three were cabinet ministers—Kanubhai Patel, Rushikesh Patel, and Kunvarji Bavalia—while Sanghavi, Praful Pansheriya, and Purshottam Solanki held MoS roles. Only Sanghavi and Pansheriya took fresh oaths following the reshuffle.
The reshuffle saw the exit of 10 ministers, including senior leaders such as Balwantsinh Rajput (Industries), Raghavji Patel (Agriculture), Bhanuben Babariya (Social Justice and Empowerment), and Mulu Bera (Forest and Environment).
This reshuffle has also increased women’s representation in the council from one to three ministers.
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new and elevated ministers. The cabinet expansion comes months ahead of local body elections and two years before the state assembly polls in 2027.
Earlier this month, MoS Jagdish Vishwakarma was appointed the new president of the state BJP, replacing Union Minister C R Paatil. However, Vishwakarma was not included in the cabinet due to the BJP’s “one person, one post” policy.
Bhupendra Patel assumed office as Gujarat CM for the second time on December 12, 2022, and this reshuffle is seen as a strategic move to strengthen his team ahead of upcoming elections.