19 New Ministers Inducted Into Gujarat Cabinet
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers and those elevated to cabinet or MoS (Independent Charge) positions
GANDHINAGAR: In a major reshuffle in Gujarat, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday inducted 19 new faces into his Cabinet and retained six ministers from his previous team, including Harsh Sanghavi, who was elevated to the post of Deputy Chief Minister. Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s wife, Rivaba Jadeja, also secured a berth as Minister of State. With the reshuffle, the total strength of the Council of Ministers has risen to 26, including the Chief Minister, up from 17 earlier. Gujarat, with a 182-member Assembly, can have a maximum of 27 ministers (15 percent of the House strength).
The cabinet expansion comes two years before the 2027 Assembly elections and months ahead of the local body polls. Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers and those elevated to cabinet or MoS (Independent Charge) positions.
Sanghavi, the MLA from Majura in Surat and former Minister of State for Home, has now become the state’s first Deputy Chief Minister under Patel’s tenure. The post was last held by Nitin Patel in the government led by former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani before being discontinued in 2021.
Six ministers from the previous cabinet, including Sanghavi, were retained. Although 16 ministers resigned on Thursday, the Chief Minister did not accept the resignations of these six. Among them, Kanubhai Patel, Rushikesh Patel, and Kunvarji Bavalia were earlier cabinet ministers, while Sanghavi, Praful Pansheriya, and Purshottam Solanki served as Ministers of State. Of these, only Sanghavi and Pansheriya took fresh oaths— Sanghavi as Deputy CM and Pansheriya as MoS with Independent Charge.
New entrants to the cabinet include Jitu Vaghani, Arjun Modhwadia, and Manisha Vakil. Modhwadia, MLA from Porbandar, took oath as a cabinet minister. A former Gujarat Congress president and Leader of Opposition, he joined the BJP in March 2024.
Rivaba Jadeja, the MLA from Jamnagar North, made a surprise entry into the cabinet as Minister of State. Her husband, cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, and their daughter attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Among the 19 new ministers, Jitu Vaghani, Manisha Vakil, Ishwarsinh Patel, and Naresh Patel have previously served as ministers in past BJP governments.
The new council comprises nine cabinet ministers, three Ministers of State with Independent Charge, and 13 Ministers of State. Ten ministers from the previous cabinet were dropped, including senior leaders such as Industries Minister Balwantsinh Rajput, Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Bhanuben Babariya, and Forest and Environment Minister Mulu Bera.
Women’s representation in the cabinet has improved, with three women ministers compared to one earlier. Earlier this month, MoS Jagdish Vishwakarma was appointed as the new president of the Gujarat BJP unit, succeeding Union Minister C. R. Paatil. Bhupendra Patel began his second term as Chief Minister on December 12, 2022.
