19 ministers inducted in Gujarat cabinet rejig | CM Bhupendra Patel’s new team: A young deputy, more women, Dalits & tribals

The new team gives more representation to Dalits and tribals, with three MLAs from reserved Scheduled Caste seats inducted in the ministry against one in the previous Patel team, while against two in the last dispensation the new one has four MLAs from Scheduled Tribes reserved seats. There will be five new Cabinet ministers, three new Ministers of State with Independent charge and 12 new Ministers of State. The new faces include former Congress veteran Congress Arjun Modhwadia, who gets a Cabinet rank and Rivaba Jadeja from Jamnagar, who is wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja.

The outgoing Cabinet had a total of 16 ministers, apart from the CM.

The five new Cabinet ministers include Jitu Vaghani (Bhavnagar West), Naresh Patel (Gandevi), Arjun Modhwadia (Porbandar) Pradhyuman Vaja (Kodinar), and Raman Solanki (Borsad).

The new Ministers of State with independent charge are Ishvarsinh Patel (Ankleshwar), Praful Pansheriya (Kamrej) and Manisha Vakil (Vadodara City).

And the 12 new Ministers of State are Kanti Amrutiya (Morbi), Ramesh Katara (Fatepura), Darshana Vaghela (Asarva), Kaushik Vekariya (Amreli), Pravin Mali (Deesa), Jayram Gamit (Nizar), Trikam Chhanga (Anjar), Kamlesh Patel (Petlad), Sanjaysinh Mahida (Mahudha), P C Baranda (Bhiloda), Swarupji Thakor (Vav) and Rivaba Jadeja (Jamnagar North).

The reshuffle has seen the elevation of two ministers that include Praful Pansheriya apart from Sanghavi, who is an MLA from Majura of Surat. In the previous Cabinet, Sanghavi was Minister of State for Sports, Youth Service, Coordination of voluntary organisation, non-resident Gujaratis’ Division, Transport, Gruh Rakshak Dal and Gram Rakshak Dal, Civil Defence, Jail, Border Security (All Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Home and Police Housing, Industries and Cultural Activities.

Pansheriya was Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Primary, Secondary and Adult Education and Higher Education.

In his first major reshuffle, CM Patel seems to have given importance to Saurashtra-Kutch region while inducting nine MLAs from the region in the Cabinet. The nine include Trikam Chhanga, Kanti Amrutiya, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Rivaba Jadeja, Arjun Modhwadia, Pradhyuman Vaja, Kaushik Vekariya, Parshottam Solanki and Jitu Vaghani. In the previous cabinet, five MLAs of Saurashtra-Kutch region were ministers.
North Gujarat saw lowest representation, with four MLAs being inducted in the Cabinet. They are: Swarupji Thakor, Pravin Mali and Rushikesh Patel and P C Baranda.

From Central Gujarat, five MLAs have got ministerial berths – Raman Solanki, Kamlesh Patel, Sanjaysinh Mahida, Ramesh Katara and Manisha Vakil.

From South Gujarat, six MLAs are part of the Cabinet: Jayram Gamit, Naresh Patel, Ishvarsinh Patel and Kanubhai Desai.

One MLA from Ahmedabad city Darshana Vaghela (Asarva) has also been inducted in the new cabinet.

While there was only one woman minister in the outgoing Cabinet, it now has three in Manisha Vakil, Darshana Vaghela and Rivaba Jadeja.

The caste composition of the 25 ministers in the Bhupendra Patel Cabinet include eight OBC, six Patidar (excluding the CM), four Scheduled Tribe, three Scheduled Caste, two Kshatriya and one each from the Brahmin and Jain (minority) communities.

Earlier, on Thursday, all the 16 ministers from the outgoing Cabinet submitted their resignations to the CM. The CM, however, did not accept resignations of six of them and continued them in his latest cabinet.The six – apart from Sanghavi and Pansheriya – include Rushikesh Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Kunvarji Bavaliya and Parshottam Solanki. Rushikesh Patel, Desai and Bavaliya have been retained as cabinet ministers.
The 10 ministers who have been dropped in the reshuffle are: Raghavji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Mulubhai Bera, Kuber Dindor, Bhanuben Babariya, Jagdish Vishwakarma, Bachubhai Khabad, Mukesh Patel, Bhikhusinh Parmar and Kunvarji Halpati.

Vishwakarma was recently appointed Gujarat BJP president and he is likely to announce his organisational team soon. With that, the new Cabinet and the new organisational team of the BJP in the state will face their first electoral challenge in the elections of local bodies due around December or January next year. Later, they will have to face the next Assembly elections around two years later.

Late on Friday evening, the CM distributed the portfolios to the new ministers in the cabinet.

The CM has kept portfolios such as General Administration, Administrative Reforms and Training, Planning, Non-Resident Gujaratis’ Division, Revenue and Disaster Management, Roads and Buildings and Capital Projects, Narmada, Kalpasar, Mines and Minerals, Ports, Information and Broadcasting.

Notably, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi has been given key responsibilities of portfolios such as Home, Police Housing, Jail, Border Security, Gruh Rakshak Dal, Gram Rakshak Dal, Civil Defence, Prohibition and Excise, Transport, Law and Justice, Sports and Youth Services, Cultural Activities, Coordination of Voluntary Organisations, Industries, Salt Industries, Micro, Small and Medium Industries, Printing and Stationery, Tourism and Pilgrimage Development, Civil Aviation.

Kanubhai Desai continues to hold finance and with that he has got additional responsibilities of Urban Development.

Jitu Vgahani has been made responsible for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Cooperation, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Cow Breeding and Protocol.

Pradyuman Vaja has been allocated portfolios of Social Justice and Empowerment, Primary, Secondary and Adult Education and Higher and Technical Education.

Rushikesh Patel has been given the portfolios of Energy and Petrochemicals, Panchayat and Rural Housing and Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs.

Kunvarji Bavaliya has been made cabinet minister of Labour, Skill Development and Employment and Rural Development.

Whereas, Naresh Patel is made cabinet minister of Tribal Development, Khadi, Cottage Industries and Rural Industries.

Arjun Modhwadia has been given portfolios of Forests and Environment, Climate Change and Science and Technology.

Ramanlal Solanki will be handling the portfolios of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs.

Among other ministers, Praful Pansheriya has been made Minister of State (MoS) with independent charge of Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education.

Parshottam Solanki will continue to be the MoS of Fisheries.