New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday (September 16, 2021) allocated portfolios to 24 newly-inducted ministers, keeping a host of departments including Home with himself and without appointing any deputy. Kanubhai Desai was allocated Finance and Energy and Petrochemicals portfolios.
Besides the Home ministry, CM Patel will hold the charge of General Administration Department, Information and Broadcast, Industries, Mines and Minerals, Capital Projects, Urban Development, Urban Housing and Narmada and Ports, an official release said. The allocation was announced in the first cabinet meeting held in Gandhinagar after the ministers were sworn in earlier in the day.
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath to 10 cabinet ministers and 14 ministers of state at 1.30 pm in a ceremony. The ministry formation exercise shows that the BJP has tried to balance caste and regional representation. The CM pick is a Patidar community leader and the BJP has given berth to six Patidars and OBCs each, four from scheduled tribes, three from scheduled castes, two each from among Brahmins and Kshatriyas and one member from the Jain community.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the new state cabinet ministers. Taking to Twitter he wrote, "Congratulations to all Party colleagues who have taken oath as Ministers in the Gujarat Government. These are outstanding Karyakartas who have devoted their lives to public service and spreading our Party’s development agenda. Best wishes for a fruitful tenure ahead."
Congratulations to all Party colleagues who have taken oath as Ministers in the Gujarat Government. These are outstanding Karyakartas who have devoted their lives to public service and spreading our Party’s development agenda. Best wishes for a fruitful tenure ahead.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 16, 2021
The new ministry includes Rajendra Trivedi, Jitu Vaghani, Rushikesh Patel, Purnesh Modi, Raghavji Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Kiritsinh Rana, Naresh Patel, Pradip Parmar and Arjunsinh Chauhan were sworn in as cabinet ministers. Trivedi, Rana and Raghavji Patel have been ministers earlier. Harsh Sanghvi, Jagdish Panchal, Brijesh Merja, Jitu Choudhary and Manisha Vakil took the oath as ministers of state with independent charge. The nine other ministers of state are Mukesh Patel, Nimisha Suthar, Arvind Raiyani, Kuber Dindor, Kirtisinh Vaghela, Gajendrasinh Parmar, R C Makwana, Vinod Moradia and Deva Malam.
