In a reshuffle of Gujarat's council of ministers, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday inducted 19 new ministers, expanding his cabinet to a total strength of 26, and elevated Harsh Sanghavi, the state's junior home minister and a two-term MLA from Surat, to the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
The ceremony, held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar today, was administered by Governor Acharya Devvrat, who oversaw the oath of office for the newly inducted and elevated ministers.
Sanghavi, who represents the Majura constituency in Surat, has been one of the party's prominent young leaders and was previously serving as Minister of State for Home.
While all 16 ministers in the Patel cabinet resigned on Thursday in anticipation of the reshuffle, six were retained in the new lineup - Kanubhai Patel, Rushikesh Patel, Kunvarji Bavalia, Harsh Sanghavi, Praful Pansheriya, and Purshottam Solanki. The Chief Minister did not accept their resignations.
Among them, only Sanghavi and Pansheriya -- the latter now holding the position of Minister of State with independent charge -- took fresh oaths during Friday's ceremony.
The reshuffle has brought several new and returning faces into the cabinet, including Jitu Vaghani, Arjun Modhwadia, and Manisha Vakil. But the most talked-about appointment has been that of Rivaba Jadeja, the BJP MLA from Jamnagar North and wife of Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who has been sworn in as a Minister of State.
The changes follow the recent appointment of Jagdish Vishwakarma as the new state BJP president and come at a time when the party is seeking to consolidate its base across Gujarat.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who took office in September 2021 after Vijay Rupani's resignation, continues to enjoy strong backing from the central leadership.
