The Gujarat government has announced a new 26-member cabinet, marking the first major reshuffle since Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel took office. Contrary to earlier talk of a no-repeat policy, six ministers have been retained, while 19 new MLAs have been inducted, including three women ministers.
Retained ministers: Rushikesh Patel, Kunvarji Bavalia, Parshottam Solanki, Praful Panseriya, Harsh Sanghavi, and Kanu Desai.
New ministers: Trikam Chhanga, Swaroop Thakor, Pravin Mali, P.C. Baranda, Darshana Vaghela, Kantilal Amrutiya, Rivaba Jadeja, Arjun Modhwadia, Pradhyuman Waja, Kaushik Vekaria, Jitendra Vaghani, Raman Solanki, Kamlesh Patel, Sanjaysinh Mahida, Ramesh Katara, Manisha Vakil, Ishvarsinh Patel, Jayram Gamit, and Naresh Patel.
The new ministers will be sworn in today noon at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. The state is also likely to get a new deputy chief minister as part of the expansion.
BJP National President JP Nadda arrived in Gandhinagar on Thursday evening to address MLAs and discuss governance strategies ahead of the swearing-in.