In a first-of-its-kind ministerial formation, newly-appointed Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel axed all the ministers in the Vijay Rupali cabinet and brought in his own.
The entire old cabinet, including ex-chief minister Vijay Rupani, was present for the swearing-in ceremony.
Most of the ministers, barring Kiritsinh Rana, Rajendra Trivedi, Raghavji Patel, are first-time ministers and fresh faces.
The no-repeat theory is a big gamble for the BJP government which has always banked on its old guard, and tried and tested warriors for going to battle. By completely changing all the ministers and the chief minister, PM Narendra Modi has put his trust in Gujarat State BJP president C R Paatil.
Experts say PM Modi’s strategy is to give Gujarat a completely new team which he expects will work tirelessly, have a clean image and aid the seniors in drawing up a solid plan for the assembly polls next year. The party expects to win 182 of 182 seats in Gujarat.
All the outgoing Cabinet ministers unitedly stood and said, it the law of nature to make place for the young and new. We continue to remain disciplined, dedicated workers of BJP and will continue to follow whatever our dear leader Narendra Modi wants us to.
Vibes of India’s Kinjal Shah analyses the region and caste-wise representation in the Bhupendra Patel cabinet.
Ministers in the newly-formed cabinet show a dominant Saurashtra and South Gujarat presence. In addition, the Patel factor is also quite high.
The Bhupendra Patel cabinet is led by Patel himself and has eight other Patels, six OBCs, two Brahmins, two Kshatriyas, three Adivasis, one Jain, and two Dalits
Let’s take a look at the region-wise distribution of the team: there are eight from Saurashtra, seven from South Gujarat, six from Central Gujarat, and three from North Gujarat.
Here is a detailed region-wise list:
North Gujarat
1. Rushikesh Patel, Visnagar
2. Gajendra Parmar, Prantij
3. Kiritsinh Vaghela, Kankrej
South Gujarat
1. Naresh Patel, Gandevi
2. Kanu Desai, Pardi
3. Jitu Chaudhary, Kaprada
4. Harsh Sanghvi, Majura
5. Mukesh Patel, Olpad
6. Vinod Moradiya, Katargaam
7. Purnesh Modi, Surat west
Saurashtra
1. Arvind Rayani, Rajkot East
2. Raghavji Patel, Jamnagar
3. Brijesh Merja, Morbi
4. Deva Malam, Keshod
5. Kiritsinh Rana, Limdi
6. RC Makwana, Mahuva
7. Jitu Vaghani, Bhavnagar West
Central Gujarat
1. Jagdish Panchal, Nikol, Ahmedabad
2. Nimisha Suthar, Morva Hadaf, Panchmahal
3. Pradeep Parmar, Asarva, Ahmedabad
4. Arjunsinh Chauhan, Mehmdabad
5. Kuber Dindor, Santrampur
6. Rajendra Trivedi, Vadodara
7. Manishben Vakil, Vadodara
Since there is no representation from Kutch, it is likely that Nima Acharya may be made the first Speaker. Acharya, who was earlier with Congress left the grand old party in 2012. Pankaj Desa of Nadiad will be made the Chief Whip of the BJP.
Caste-wise distinction
The Patels
1. Bhupendra Patel – CM – Ghatlodia – Ahmedabad
2. Rushikesh Patel
3. Jitendra Vaghani
4. Raghavji Patel
5. Arvind Raiyani
6. Vinod Moradiya
7. Brijesh Berja
OBC leaders
1. Devabhai Malam
2. RC Makwana
3. Gajendrasinh Parmar
4. Jagdish Panchal
5. Mukesh Patel
6. Arjun Chauhan
7. Purnesh Modi
Brahmin representation
1. Kanubhai Desai
2. Rajendra Trivedi
Kshatriya portrayal
1. Kiritsinh Rana
2. Kritisinh Vaghela
Tribals on the team
1. Nimisha Suthar
2. Kuber Dindor
3. Jitu Chaudhary
The only Jain onboard
1. Harsh Sanghvi
Dalit faces
1. Pradeep Parmar
2. Manisha Vakil
Vibes of India’s Saloni Brahmbhatt gives us the age and educational analysis of the Bhupendra Patel cabinet.
The oldest minister is Kanubhai Desai from Pardi. He is 70 years old. In the Rupani cabinet, the oldest minister was Yogesh Patel who was 75 years old.
The youngest is Harsh Sanghvi, 36. In the Rupani cabinet, Jayesh Radadia, 38, was the youngest.
In the current list of 24 new ministers, four are postgraduates, five graduates, five Class 12 pass outs, five Class 10 pass outs, three Class 9 pass outs, and one Class 4 pass out. Devabhai Malam from Keshod in Saurashtra is the lowest educated.
Surprisingly, the most eloquent and English-speaking MLA from Majura, Surat is reportedly only a Class 9 dropout.
Kuber Dindor from Santrampur is a professor. Manisha Vakil, 38, from Vadodara is a supervisor in a primary school.
