Gujarat gets 'young' Cabinet under CM Bhupendra Patel, 24 ministers take oath
New Gujarat Chief Minister and first-term MLA Bhupendra Patel was sworn in on Monday, two days after Vijay Rupani’s surprise exit from the post
Gujarat Ministers Oath: Twenty four ministers, including former Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi and former state BJP president Jitu Vaghani, were sworn in as Gujarat ministers on Thursday. No minister from the earlier Vijay Rupani-led ministry was inducted. Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath to 10 cabinet ministers and 14 ministers of state, including five ministers of state with independent charge. Bhupendra Patel, who was sworn in as the 17th chief minister of the state on Monday, was present at the Raj Bhavan ceremony, along with Rupani, whose sudden resignation from the post on Saturday led to the formation of the new ministry. The following were sworn in as cabinet ministers: Rajendra Trivedi, Jitu Vaghani, Rushikesh Patel, Purnesh Modi, Raghavji Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Kiritsinh Rana, Naresh Patel, Pradip Parmar and Arjunsinh Chauhan.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and congratulated all party colleagues who sworn in as Gujarat ministers.
"Congratulations to all Party colleagues who have taken oath as Ministers in the Gujarat Government. These are outstanding Karyakartas who have devoted their lives to public service and spreading our Party’s development agenda. Best wishes for a fruitful tenure ahead," PM Modi tweeted.
Gujarat Cabinet Reshuffle Highlights
2:10 PM: Gujarat New Ministers: Rajendra Trivedi, Jitu Vaghani, Rushikesh Patel, Purnesh Modi, Raghavji Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Kiritsinh Rana, Naresh Patel, Pradip Parmar, Arjunsinh Chauhan, Harsh Sanghvi, Jagdish Panchal, Brijesh Merja, Jitu Choudhary, Manisha Vakil sworn.
1:40 PM: Gujarat Ministers Oath: The swearing-in ceremony of the new Gujarat Cabinet is currently underway at the Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. The BJP has inducted younger MLAs into the Cabinet.
1:25 PM: Gujarat Cabinet Reshuffle LIVE: The swearing-in ceremony of the new Gujarat Cabinet under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will begin shortly at the Raj Bhavan.
1 PM: Gujarat: First Cabinet meeting at 4:30 PM
The first cabinet meeting of the Council of Ministers to be chaired by CM Bhupendra Patel will take place at 4.30 pm today at Gandhinagar.
12:40 PM: Gujarat Ministers Oath: BJP MLA Raghavji Patel told ANI that he is happy to see my ambition of becoming a cabinet minister fulfilled today by BJP. "I want to thank the party's high command. Decisions taken by PM Modi & Amit Shah are 100% correct. I trust decision of 'no-repeat theory' in cabinet," he said.
12:30 PM: Gujarat Cabinet Reshuffle LIVE: BJP MLA Naresh Patel said that he has received a call few minutes ago from party's state chief CR Paatil. "I am grateful to PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda for including a person like me in state cabinet," he said.
12:15 PM List of ministers who will take oath today: Gandevi MLA Naresh Patel (Tribal), Pardi MLA Kanubhai Desai, Visnagar MLA Hrishikesh Patel, Dhari MLA J. V. Kakdiya, Kaprada MLA Jitu Chaudhary, Niklo MLA Jagdish Panchal, Arvind Raiani from Rajkot, Majura MLA Harsh Sanghvi, Jamnagar MLA Raghavji Patel, Olpad MLA Mukesh Patel, Morwa Hadaf MLA Nimisha Suthar, Bharuch MLA Dushyant Patel, Prantij MLA Gajendra Parmar, Morbi MLA Brijesh Merja, Asarva MLA Pradeep Parmar, Keshod MLA Deva Malam, Pakanj Desai will remain as Dandak (chief whip), Limbdi MLA KiritSinh Rana, Mahemdavad MLA Arjun Sinh Chauhan, Santrampur MLA Kuber Dindor and Mahuva MLA RC Makwana.
11:50 AM: Speaker Rajendra Trivedi resigns: Gujarat Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi resigned from his post just ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Ministers.
11:30 AM: Gujarat Ministers Oath: New ministers of the Bhupendra Patel government in Gujarat are going to the oath of office and secrecy on Wednesday afternoon, a state BJP spokesperson said.
11 AM: Gujarat Ministers Oath: Some ministerial berth aspirants met state BJP chief CR Paatil on Tuesday. There is speculation in state BJP circles on whether Nitin Patel, deputy CM in the Rupani-led ministry, will retained in the new cabinet. Party sources said efforts will be made to accommodate senior leaders in the cabinet as far as possible.
New Gujarat Chief Minister and first-term MLA Bhupendra Patel, 59, was sworn in on Monday, two days after Vijay Rupani’s surprise exit from the post, a year ahead of the Assembly polls. Patel (59), unanimously elected BJP legislature party leader on Sunday, was sworn in as the state’s 17th chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a simple ceremony at Raj Bhavan.
With state Assembly polls scheduled in December 2022, the BJP is banking on Bhupendra Patel, a Patidar, for poll victory. In the 2017 Assembly elections, BJP won 99 of the 182 seats and Congress got 77. Rupani, the fourth chief minister to demit office in BJP-ruled states during the coronavirus pandemic, completed five years in office on August 7 this year.
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