Gujarat: 24 ministers sworn in; not a single induction from Rupani-led ministry

The BJP Thursday inducted 24 members including 21 who debuted as ministers into the fourdayold Bhupendra Patelled ministry discarding all ministers in the previous Vijay Rupaniled regime in Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state a year ahead of the Assembly pollsThere is no deputy chief minister in the new ministry The post was held by Nitin Patel in the Rupaniled ministryPolitical observers say the BJP expects to make a significant impact ahead of the 2022 state polls with this newlook ministry The party expects to face the voters with a clean slate they addedWith the fresh inductions which include two women the strength of the ministry led by Patel a firstterm MLA and minister has gone up to 25Modi congratulated the new ministersCongratulations 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 Partys development agenda Best wishes for a fruitful tenure ahead Modi tweetedCongratulations 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 Partyrsquos development agenda Best wishes for a fruitful tenure aheadmdash Narendra Modi narendramodi September 16 2021Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath to 10 cabinet ministers and 14 ministers of state including five ministers of state with independent chargeThose sworn in at the 130 pm Raj Bhavan ceremony include former Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi and former state BJP president Jitu VaghaniThe ministry formation exercise shows that the party has tried to balance caste and regional representationAlso read Bhupendra Patel takes over as 17th Gujarat CMAfter picking Patel a Patidar community leader as the CM the BJP has given berth to six Patidars and OBCs each four from scheduled tribes three from scheduled castes two each from among Brahmins and Kshatriyas and one member from the Jain communityLike the CM who is considered close to Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel the new cabinet minister Rishikesh Patel and minister of state with independent charge Jagdish Panchal are also considered close to the former Gujarat CMCabinet ministers Rajendra Trivedi and Kiritsinh Rana are oldtimers and considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while minister of state Harsh Sanghvi is known to be close to state BJP president C R PaatilBhupendra Patel chaired the first meeting of the Council of Ministers soon after the swearingin ceremonyA party source said there is widespread dissatisfaction over the dropping of senior ministers who held key posts in the Rupani ministryThe ceremony was to be held on Wednesday but was postponed as some senior ministers were unhappy over being dropped the source said Banners and hoardings put up at Raj Bhavan for Wednesdays ceremony had to be removed he pointed outWhen reporters asked former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel about reports of rumblings in the BJP he sounded philosophicalPeople come and go from the posts Their supporters feel left out But now it is not my responsibility The party leadership has to look after itiquest Patel said I want to congratulate the ministers they will lead the party in the next election he addedBhupendra Patel 59 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 ministryRajendra Trivedi Jitu Vaghani Rushikesh Patel Purnesh Modi Raghavji Patel Kanubhai Desai Kiritsinh Rana Naresh Patel Pradip Parmar and Arjunsinh Chauhan were sworn in as cabinet ministersTrivedi Rana and Raghavji Patel have been ministers earlierHarsh Sanghvi Jagdish Panchal Brijesh Merja Jitu Choudhary and Manisha Vakil took the oath as ministers of state with independent chargeThe nine other ministers of state are Mukesh Patel Nimisha Suthar Arvind Raiyani Kuber Dindor Kirtisinh Vaghela Gajendrasinh Parmar R C Makwana Vinod Moradia and Deva MalamAhead of the swearingin there were speculations that senior ministers in the Rupani ministry like Nitin Patel Bhupendrasinh Chudasama Kaushik Patel Pradeepsinh Jadeja and R C Faldu may not be includedThe BJP took the norepeat formula a step further by not inducting any member of the Rupani ministryBhupendra Patels elevation he is the first from the Patidar subgroup to be a chief minister is key to BJPs plans to woo the Kadva Patidar community which some political observers feel has drifted away from the partyMaking him the CM is being seen as an attempt by the BJP to woo the Patidars ahead of the 2022 polls and retain the grip on Gujarat which is under its rule for over two decadesBefore Bhupendra Patel Gujarat saw Anandiben Patel Keshubhai Patel Babubhai Patel and Chimanbhai Patel as chief ministers from the Patidar or Patel communityMeanwhile Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday credited the BJP governments in Gujarat right from the time when Modi was the chief minister for strengthening the law and order situation and helping the state shed its curfew capital tag and gain the identity of being a safe and secure stateAddressing a gathering virtually after inaugurating six newlyconstructed police stations and an office of deputy superintendent of police in rural Ahmedabad he said that thanks to the improved law and order situation Gujarat has become a leading state in terms of industrial developmentThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever