Major cabinet reshuffle in Gujarat today, 22 ministers expected to take oath

Gujarat is set to get a new council of ministers today, a day after Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s cabinet resigned en bloc ahead of the expansion. The allocation of portfolios remains under suspense as the swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 11.30 am.

Chief Minister Patel is slated to meet Governor Acharya Devvrat after 9 am to submit the list of ministers who will be dropped and those to be inducted into the new cabinet. According to sources who spoke to news agency PTI, around 22 ministers will take oath today, with about six from the previous council likely to be retained.

Of the 17 ministers in the outgoing cabinet, eight held cabinet-rank positions, while the rest were Ministers of State (MoS). The Gujarat Assembly has a strength of 182 members, allowing a maximum of 27 ministers, as per constitutional provisions.

Earlier this month, Minister of State Jagdish Vishwakarma was appointed as the new president of the state BJP unit, replacing Union Minister CR Patil. In line with the BJP’s ‘one person, one post’ policy, Vishwakarma will not be part of the new cabinet.

On Thursday, all 16 ministers in Patel’s council resigned, paving the way for a complete reshuffle. “Resignations of all 16 ministers have been taken by the party. Except for Chief Minister Patel, all ministers have resigned,” a BJP source said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda will attend the event, along with all party MPs and MLAs. Nadda, who arrived in Gandhinagar on Thursday evening, held a series of meetings with Chief Minister Patel and senior party leaders to finalise the list of new ministers.

Bhupendra Patel, who took oath as chief minister for the second time on December 12, 2022, recently completed five years in office. The new cabinet is expected to feature a mix of experienced leaders and fresh faces as the BJP prepares for upcoming civic polls and begins groundwork for the 2027 Assembly elections.

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