The BJP created history in Indian politics by pressing on with the ‘total no repeat’ formula, dropping all 22 ministers of the previous government led by Vijay Rupani and inducting a brand new team of 24. Most of them are freshers.
The disruptive change has been occasioned by Bhupendra Patel’s recent and staggeringly unexpected elevation to the post of the chief minister. By any yardstick, the culling is one of the most audacious political experiments orchestrated by PM Narendra Modi in his home state Gujarat, often referred to as the saffron party’s laboratory. The bold move also signals the supreme confidence of Modi in his party’s grip over Gujarat. It wa a day of hectic parleys and unrest earlier, with senior ministers being open about their dismay at the prospect of being axed.
But even that rare episode of discord in the party did not alter the high command’s resolve to prop up a new team of netas to lead Gujarat into the 2022 assembly polls. It was pegged to be an attempt to wipe out any anti-incumbency sentiment that voters may harbour after the BJP’s more than two decade rule, especially in the aftermath of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
In the tsunami of transformation, senior leaders including former Dy CM Nitin Patel, Pradipsinh Jadeja, Saurabh Patel, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, and Kaushik Patel - each with decades of experience in the government - were cast aside as ‘Team Dada’ took over. The new ministers were sworn in by Gujarat governor Devvrat Acharya.
Of the 24 ministers, 10 have cabinet rank and 14 are ministers of state. Five ministers of state have been given independent charge. If prior experience of ministership is a benchmark, this is essentially a team of freshers. Almost a dozen of the new ministers are first-time MLAs including CM Patel. Two women, Nimisha Suthar and Manisha Vakil, have bagged ministerial berths.
Only three members of the Bhupendra Patel cabinet have prior experience of being ministers. They are Kiritsinh Rana, Rajendra Trivedi, and Raghavji Patel. The induction of Raghavji along with two other Congress turncoats - Jitu Chaudhary and Brijesh Merja - is perceived to be a move to douse resentment which erupted over the removal of three turncoat ministers.
In the new cabinet, caste equations were also rejigged to give more prominence to OBC and SC/ST communities. The number of OBC ministers jumped from four to six while the number of SC and ST ministers rose from three to six.
The surprise element in Bhupendra Patel’s selection as the CM resonated in his cabinet formation as well. CM Patel has kept most of the key portfolios held by Rupani. The relatively low-profile Kanubhai Desai was given arguably the most important cabinet-rank portfolio: the finance department. Former Dy CM Nitin Patel had ruled the finance department for long. Ex-speaker Rajendra Trivedi was given revenue, law and justice, and parliamentary affairs. The youngest minister in the cabinet, Harsh Sanghvi, 36, has been appointed as the minister of state for home. Jitu Vaghani, meanwhile, has been absorbed into the cabinet after a successful stint as the state party president.
The health department held by Nitin Patel has gone to another Patidar MLA, Rushikesh Patel, who represents Visnagar in Mehsana district. With Bhupendra Patel at the helm, six Patidar ministers were sworn in; Rupani’s government had eight.
The complete change of guard created a major flutter across the state. Political observers said PM Modi first toyed with the “change is the only constant” theory in 2007 in a taluka panchayat election in Gondal. In 2010 he implemented the “no repeat” formula in the civic elections in Ahmedabad and Surat. The GAS (Gondal-Ahmedabad-Surat) formula’s success in cutting anti-incumbency spurred determination to replicate it, albeit in a limited measure in assembly elections of 2012 and 2017 and even the 2019 general elections when many senior leaders were denied tickets.
“This experiment has consistently given results and has been implemented in the cabinet formation to create a positive impression among people before the 2022 elections,” said a keen observer of Gujarat politics.
List of ministers and their portfolios in new Gujarat cabinet
The new 24-member council of ministers of CM Bhupendra Patel includes 10 Cabinet Ministers, 5 Ministers of State with Independent Charge and 9 Ministers of State.
Cabinet Ministers
Bhupendra Patel – Chief Minister, Home, Urban Development, General Administration, Information and Broadcast, Industries, Mines and Minerals, Capital Projects, Narmada and ports among others
Rajendra Trivedi – Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Revenue, Law and Justice
Jitendra Vaghani- Education
Rishikesh Patel – Health and family welfare, medical education, water resources and water supply
Purneshkumar Ishwarlal Modi – Roads and building, transport, civil aviation, tourism and pilgrimage development
Raghavji Patel – Agriculture and animal husbandry
Arjunsinh Chauhan – Rural development and rural housing
Kanubhai Mohanlal Desai – Finance, Energy and Petrochemicals
Kiritsinh Rana – Environment, climate change, and printing and stationery departments
Naresh Patel – Tribal Development and food and civil supply
Pradip Parmar – Social justice and empowerment
Ministers of State
Harsh Sanghavi – MoS Home, disaster management and police housing, independent charge as MoS of sports, youth and cultural activities, NRI, excise and prohibition, border security and prisons
Jagdish Ishwarbhai – Cottage industries, cooperation, salt industry and protocol. he will also handle industries, forest and environment, climate change and printing and stationery
Brijesh Merja – Independent charge- Labour and Employment, Panchayats, rural development and rural housing
Jitu Chaudhary – Fisheries (independent charge), Narmada, water resources and water supply
Manisha Vakil – Independent charge- women and child development, social justice and empowerment
Mukesh Patel – Agriculture , energy and petrochemicals
Nimishaben Suthar – Tribal development, health and family welfare and medical education
Arvindbhai Gordhanbhai Raiyani – Transport, Civil aviation, tourism and pilgrimage development
Kuber Dindor – Higher and technical education, legislative and parliamentary affairs
Kirti Singh Vaghela – Primary, secondary and adult education
Gajenddra Singh Parmar – Food and civil supply
Raghavbhai Makwana – Social justice and empowerment
Vinod Moradiya – Urban development and urban housing
Devabhai Malav – Animal husbandry
Nimaben Bhaveshbhai Acharya has been made Gujarat Assembly Speaker after Rajendra Trivedi resigned from the post and was inducted into the new cabinet.
