Gujarat got its largest representation in the central government with Prime Minister Narendra Modi working out a fine math to induct new colleagues, while balancing caste and regional equations within the state ahead of the assembly elections next year. On the very next day of appointing senior tribal leader and former cabinet minister Mangubhai Patel as the new governor of Madhya Pradesh, PM Modi appointed three MPs – Darshana Jardosh, a Brahmin married to an OBC from South Gujarat; Devusinh Chauhan, a Kshatriya from Central Gujarat; and Dr Mahendra Munjpara in the Council of Ministers, while Parsottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandaviya were elevated to the cabinet rank.
The reshuffle has been effected with the clear eye on the 2022 Assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The party has been working for the uplift of the SC/STs, OBCs and the underprivileged. The induction of three OBC ministers from Gujarat justifies that. Until now, two Gujarat MPs – Amit Shah and S Jaishankar (he is RS MP from the state although he is
not from Gujarat) – were cabinet ministers while Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala were
junior ministers.
The three MPs:
Darshna Jardosh: Mrs Jardosh had held the position of the vice president of Surat BJP's ward no. 8 committee in the late 1980s and was later elected as a corporator from the same ward in 2000. Subsequently, she was appointed as the president of the women's wing of the Surat BJP and later as the general secretary of the state BJP women's wing till 2008. After she became an MP in 2009, Jardosh served as a member of different committees of Parliament, such as committees for chemicals and fertilisers, estimates, empowerment of women, finance and business advisory.
Mahendra Munjpara: Mahendra is a first-time MP from Surendranagar in Gujarat. He holds an
MD in General Medicine and Therapeutics from the Gujarat University. Before entering politics,
Mahendrabhai was a practicing cardiologist and professor of medicine for nearly three decades.
Devusinh Chauhan: A two-time MP from Kheda in Gujarat, Devusinh Chauhan has also served as an MLA in the Gujarat Assembly for two terms. Chauhan holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Politechnic, Porbandar, and worked as an engineer with All India Radio (AIR) before taking a plunge into politics.
Elevating two junior ministers to the cabinet rank and inducting three other MPs into the council of ministers, Prime Minister Modi has bolstered Gujarat’s representation in his government. The number of Gujarat ministers in the Modi cabinet has now increased from four to seven, making this perhaps the biggest number in a union cabinet in the state’s political history.
The cabinet reshuffle reflects an attempt to strike a balance between castes, communities and regions in the state. A senior BJP leader said, “The state has not got such a representation in any Union government since 1960. The Prime Minister and seven ministers in the Union cabinet are new record from Gujarat.” The first cabinet reshuffle in the second innings of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government has five faces from Gujarat – two former ministers and three new. Mansukh Mandaviya, the minister of state for ports, shipping, chemicals and fertilizers has been promoted to cabinet rank. He has been given Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well.
Mandaviya holds a Masters in Political Science from Bhavnagar University and is pursuing a PhD. Mandaviya was a state legislator from 2002 to 2007 and a Rajya Sabha member from 2012 to 2018; his second term as MP began in 2018. The other face Parshottam Rupala was a minister of state for Panchayati Raj, agriculture and farmer’s welfare. He has been promoted to the cabinet rank and appointed Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Rupala is an old horse of the BJP and a pillar of the saffron party in Gujarat. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been given the newly created Ministry of Cooperation.
