All ministers in the Gujarat government, except Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, have resigned ahead of a cabinet reshuffle. The Chief Minister has accepted their resignations and is expected to meet Governor Acharya Devvrat later today to stake a claim and form a new cabinet.
The move is seen as part of an administrative overhaul ahead of key political developments in the state.
The Gujarat cabinet headed by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel is set to be expanded tomorrow. According to a senior BJP leader, around 10 new ministers are likely to be inducted, while nearly half of the current ministers may be replaced as part of the reshuffle.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s cabinet will be expanded on Friday at 11:30 am, according to an official government release.
The current Gujarat cabinet consists of 17 ministers, including the Chief Minister himself, eight holding cabinet rank and an equal number serving as Ministers of State (MoS).
Under the provisions of the state assembly, which has a total strength of 182 members, Gujarat can have up to 27 ministers, or 15 percent of the total strength of the House. Earlier this month, Minister of State Jagdish Vishwakarma was appointed as the new president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gujarat unit, succeeding Union Minister C.R. Paatil. Bhupendra Patel, who first became Chief Minister in 2021, took oath for his second term on December 12, 2022.
Source: News18