AHMEDABAD: A 17-member Gujarat ministry led by Bhupendra Patel took oath of office and secrecy on Monday in the presence of a galaxy of top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Patel was sworn in as chief minister for the second straight term.
The composition of his ministerial team indicates it was put together keeping the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in mind. For, the OBCs got the biggest slice of the ministerial cake seven, including four Kolis. OBCs constitute the biggest population chunk in Gujarat.
In comparison, the powerful Patidars got fewer representatives four, including the chief minister. Besides, two tribals, one Dalit, one Jain and one Anavil Brahmin are part of the ministerial mix. The gender balance is skewed, as the ministry has one woman. Leaders of 12 out of 33 districts of Gujarat have representation in the ministry.
While young MLAs like Alpesh Thakor, Hardik Patel and Rivaba Jadeja did not find a place in the ministry, former chief minister Vijay Rupani explained that the first ministry is always small; it will be expanded in due course. Gujarat can have a maximum of 27 ministers.
Eight of the ministers have cabinet rank. The lone woman, Bhauben Babariya, is part of the cabinet. The other seven cabinet ministers are Kanu Desai, Rishikesh Patel, Raghvji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Mulu Bera and Kuber Dindor.
Those who took oath as ministers of state with independent charge are Harsh Sanghvi and Jagdish Vishwakarma. In all, 11 former ministers have been inducted into the new team. Seven of them were part of the outgoing ministry.
The PM, in his greetings, said, “Congratulations to Bhupendrabhai Patel on taking oath as CM of Gujarat. I would like to also congratulate all those who took oath as Ministers. This is an energetic team that will take Gujarat to even newer heights of progress.”