The Bhupendra Patel cabinet in Gujarat was expanded on Thursday with 24 ministers -- all new faces -- inducted, out of which only three have held ministerial posts before.
Ten cabinet ministers, five ministers of state with independent charges, and nine ministers of state were sworn in by Governor Acharya Devvrat at the Raj Bhavan. No minister from the previous Vijay Rupani government was retained.
The new cabinet ministers are Rajendra Trivedi, Jitu Vaghani, Rushikesh Patel, Purnesh Modi, Raghavji Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Kiritsinh Rana, Naresh Patel, Pradip Parmar and Arjunsinh Chauhan. Out of the above, Trivedi, Rana and Raghavji Patel have been ministers earlier.
Harsh Sanghvi, Jagdish Panchal, Brijesh Merja, Jitu Chaudhari, and Manisha Vakil are the new ministers of state for independent charge.
Mukesh Patel, Nimisha Suthar, Arvind Raiyani, Kuber Dindor, Kirtisinh Vaghela, Gajendrasinh Parmar, R.C. Makwana, Vinod Moradia and Deva Malam were sworn in as ministers of state.
Bhupendra Patel was elected the new Chief Minister on Sunday, following the sudden resignation of Rupani a day earlier.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel greets Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat during the state ministerial Cabinet swearing-in ceremony in Gandhinagar, Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021. | PTI
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat administers the oath of office and secrecy to the Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State (Independent Charge), and Ministers of State, in Gandhinagar on Thursday. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also seen. | PTI
Union Minister and Gujarat BJP in-charge Bhupendra Yadav with former state chief minister Vijay Rupani during swearing-in ceremony of the State Cabinet Ministers, at Raj bhavan in Gandhinagar, Thursday, September 16, 2021. | PTI
Gujarat minister taking oath during the swearing-in ceremony, in Gandhinagar on Thursday. | ANI
Gujarat minister taking oath during the swearing-in ceremony, in Gandhinagar on Thursday. | ANI
Gujarat minister taking oath during the ceremony, in Gandhinagar on Thursday. | ANI
Gujarat minister taking oath during the ceremony, in Gandhinagar on Thursday. | ANI
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel with newly sworn-in Cabinet ministers at their oath ceremony in Gandhinagar, Thursday, Sep 16, 2021. | PTI
Newly sworn-in state ministers and former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani after the the state ministerial Cabinet swearing-in ceremony in Gandhinagar, Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021. | PTI
With inputs from IANS.
