In a major reshuffle in the Gujarat Cabinet, Majura MLA Harsh Sanghvi was appointed deputy chief minister and 25 ministers took oath at the Mahatma Temple in Gandhinagar on Friday as part of the Bhupendra Patel-led government.
Harsh Sanghvi held the charge of Minister of State for Home in the previous cabinet and has been a three-time member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, representing Majura Assembly constituency.
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat administered oath to 25 new cabinet ministers. There are a total of 26 members in the cabinet including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The step to induct new faces into the cabinet has been taken three years after the formation of the government and two years before the 2027 assembly elections.
Visnagar MLA Hrishikesh Patel, who held the health, education and law portfolios, Kamrej MLA Praful Pansheriya, who was minister of state for parliamentary affairs, and Jasdan MLA Kunwarji Bavaliya, who was water resources minister, were reappointed to the council of ministers.
Pardi MLA Kanubhai Desai, who held the finance, energy and petrochemicals portfolios, and Bhavnagar Rural MLA Purushottam Solanki, who was minister of state for fisheries, were also among the reappointed ministers.
Ganadevi MLA Naresh Patel, Asarwa MLA and former Ahmedabad deputy mayor Darshana Vaghela, Kodinar MLA and former Gujarat BJP SC Morcha chief Pradyuman Vaja, Morbi MLA Kantilal Amritiya and Vadodara city MLA Manisha Vakil are the new members in the state cabinet.
Porbandar MLA Arjun Mondhwadia, who left Congress and joined BJP last year, has also been included in the cabinet.
Former Gujarat BJP chief and Bhavnagar MLA Jitu Vaghani, Amreli MLA and BJP’s deputy chief whip in the assembly Kaushik Vekaria; Banaskantha MLA Swaroopji Thakor, Anjar MLA Trikam Chhanga, Nizar MLA Jairam Gamit, Jamnagar North MLA Rivaba Jadeja; Bhiloda MLA PC Baranda, Dahod MLA Ramesh Katara, Ankleshwar MLA Ishwar Singh Patel and Deesa MLA Praveen Mali, Borsad MLA Ramanbhai Solanki, Petlad MLA Kamlesh Patel and Mahudha MLA Sanjay Singh Mahida are also part of the new cabinet.
Earlier on Thursday, all 16 ministers except CM Bhupendra Patel had resigned.
Gujarat can have a maximum of 27 ministers (15 percent of the 182-member assembly). Earlier, the Gujarat Council of Ministers had a total of 17 ministers (including the Chief Minister), of whom eight were cabinet ministers and eight were ministers of state.