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Gandhinagar, October 17 (IANS) In a major reshuffle in the Gujarat cabinet, senior BJP leader Harsh Shanghvi was sworn in as the new Deputy Chief Minister on Friday.
The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Mahatma Temple here, where 25 ministers were inducted into Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s new cabinet.
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed ministers.
The new Council of Ministers includes 5 Cabinet Ministers, 3 Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 12 Ministers of State.
This is the biggest reshuffle of the Gujarat cabinet since 2021. Nine ministers have been dropped from the previous cabinet, while seven have been retained.
Notable inclusion is Rivaba Jadeja, wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who is making her debut as a minister of state. Another important addition is former Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia, who joined the BJP last year – a move being seen as part of the BJP’s strategy to strengthen its base in Saurashtra.
The new Cabinet Ministers sworn in are Jitendrabhai Vaghani, Nareshbhai Patel, Modhwadia, Pradyumanbhai Vaja, and Ramanbhai Solanki.
The new ministers of state (independent charge) are Ishwar Singh Patel, Prafullabhai Pansuriya and Manisha Vakil.
The newly appointed ministers of state are Kantilal Amrutiya, Rameshbhai Katara, Darshanbhai Vaghela, Kaushikbhai Vekaria, Praveenkumar Mali, Jairambhai Gamit, Trikambhai Chhanga, Kamleshbhai Patel, Sanjaysingh Mahida, PC Baranda, Swaroopji Thakor and Jadeja.
Senior Cabinet Ministers Kanubhai Desai, Rishikeshbhai Patel, Kunwarjibhai Bavaliya, and Purushottambhai Solanki have been retained in the new team.
The reshuffle comes after a late-night meeting between Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and BJP president J.P. Nadda, indicating a broader strategic effort by the party to rejuvenate the leadership and prepare for the 2027 assembly elections.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Nadda, Gujarat BJP chief Jagdish Vishwakarma, Union ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and CR Patil, MPs, MLAs, senior party leaders, saints, dignitaries and top officials of the state including Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi, who conducted the proceedings.
All the ministers of the previous cabinet had tendered their resignations on Thursday evening, paving the way for this major political reshuffle aimed at bringing in new faces in the government and creating regional balance.
–IANS
SKP/CEO