Gujarat Cabinet Expansion: 16 Ministers Resign Ahead Of Swearing-In Ceremony

A day ahead of the planned cabinet expansion in Gujarat, all 16 ministers except Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel resigned on Thursday, sources in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said. The present council of ministers has 17 members, including CM Patel, with eight holding cabinet-rank positions and the remainder serving as Ministers of State (MoS).

On Friday morning, Chief Minister Patel met Governor Acharya Devvrat at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar and sought his permission to hold the oath ceremony for the new cabinet members, a government release said. During the meeting, the CM informed the governor about the current status of the Gujarat cabinet.

The cabinet expansion is scheduled to take place at Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar at 11:30 am, according to an official release, while another government release mentioned 11:45 am.

Ministers Who Were Retained

Party sources indicated that around 22 ministers will be sworn in, with approximately six ministers from the current council being retained.

New Members Of Gujarat Cabinet

BJP president and Union minister J P Nadda reached Gandhinagar on Thursday evening and held meetings with CM Patel and other senior party leaders. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony, party sources said.

Gujarat, which has a 182-member assembly, can have a maximum of 27 ministers, equivalent to 15 per cent of the strength of the House. Earlier this month, MoS Jagdish Vishwakarma became the new president of the state BJP unit, replacing Union minister C R Paatil. Vishwakarma will not be included in the council of ministers due to the BJP's 'one person, one post' policy.

Bhupendra Patel became chief minister for the second time on 12 December 2022 and recently completed five years in office.