On September 16, 24 members of the legislative assembly in Gujarat took oath as ministers to give the final shape to the newly-formed cabinet of CM Bhupendra Patel. The most interesting aspect of the oath ceremony that was none of the ministers from the Vijay Rupani cabinet came back as ministers as BJP put its weight on the ‘No Repeat’ theory. The majority of the ministers that took oath are fresh faces.
https://twitter.com/BJP4Gujarat/status/1438447713691996162?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe ministers took oath in the presence of Governor Acharya Devvrat. Former CM Vijay Rupani, deputy CM Nitin Patel, State BJP President CR Patil, BJP state in-charge Bhupendra Yadav and observer BL Santosh were present during the ceremony. The Bhupendra Patel ministry will have ten cabinet ministers, including Rajendra Trivedi, Jitu Vaghani, Rushikesh Patel, Raghavji Patel, Purnesh Modi, Kanubhai Desai, Kiritsinh Rana, Naresh Patel, Pradipsinh Parmar, and Arjunsinh Chauhan.
https://twitter.com/BJP4Gujarat/status/1438460965259857922?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwRajendra Trivedi was the current speaker of the Gujarat Assembly, and he resigned from the post hours before the oath-taking ceremony.
Five junior ministers or Ministers of State (MoS) with independent charge that took oath are Harsh Sanghvi, Jagdish Panchal, Brijesh Merja, Jitu Chaudhari, and Manisha Vakil. The ministers of state included in the state govt are Mukesh Patel, Nimisha Suthar, Arvind Raiyani, Kuber Dindor, Kirtisinh Vaghela, Rajendrasinh Parmar, Raghavji Makwana, Vinod Moradiya, and Devabhai Malam.
PM Modi congratulated the ministers and said in a tweet, “Congratulations to all the party members who have been sworn in as ministers in the Gujarat government. These are outstanding activists who have dedicated their lives to public service and pushed the development agenda of our party. Best wishes to all for a successful tenure ..!”
https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1438452340860678144?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwHome Minister Amit Shah wrote, “I greet all those who have been sworn in as Ministers in the Cabinet of the Government of Gujarat. I believe that under the leadership of Narendra Modi ji and Bhupendra Patel Ji the entire Cabinet will work with unwavering service to deliver public welfare schemes to the poor people of the state.”
https://twitter.com/AmitShah/status/1438462328123498497?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwFirst cabinet meeting
The newly formed cabinet had its first meeting at 4 PM in Swarnim Sankul. It was chaired by CM Bhupendra Patel. The portfolios will be assigned to the ministers soon. As speaker Rajendra Trivedi had resigned, Nimaben Acharya has been appointed as the pro-tem speaker.
The unexpected turn of events over the choice of CM
Last week, former CM Vijay Rupani resigned from his post, after which there were a lot of speculations over the name of the next CM of Gujarat. There were eight names in the race, as per several reports. However, Bhupendra Patel was chosen as the new CM of Gujarat, which no one had expected. CM Patel took oath on September 13. He had won the elections by a margin of over 1,17,000 votes against Shashikant Patel from the Congress party. The seat was previously held by UP Governor and former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel.
While submitting his resignation, former CM Rupani said, “I have resigned from the post of Gujarat Chief Minister,” Vijay Rupani told the media after meeting Governor Acharya Devvrat. “I have conveyed my wishes to work in party organization under the leadership of Prime Minister and under the guidance of BJP chief.” There were a lot of speculations over the reason why he resigned, including his deteriorating health.
Some believe the resignation was necessitated by the fact that Vijay Rupani has been unwell for the past few months, making it unfeasible for him to continue as Chief Minister for another term. Thus, BJP wishes to contest the elections with a face that is familiar with the citizens of the state by the time the elections arrive, i.e. December next year. Rupani was appointed to the position on August 7, 2016, and steered the state through the Coronavirus pandemic.
Gujarat Legislative Assembly
The assembly elections are expected to take place in December 2022 in Gujarat. Bharatiya Janata Party has been ruling the state since 1995. PM Narendra Modi took charge of the central government after being the Chief Minister of Gujarat for twelve and half years. After PM Modi, Anandiben Patel, Vijay Rupani, and now Bhupendra Patel have taken charge of the state as CM.