Gujarat is all set to expand the Cabinet tomorrow. Right before that, all 16 ministers of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s government resigned, confirmed a BJP source.
Earlier, the government had announced that there would be a reshuffle of the Cabinet on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. It is expected that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J.P. Nadda will be present on this occasion.
A senior BJP insider confirmed that except for the current Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, all 16 ministers have resigned — “a move that clears the way for a significant overhaul of the state council.”
Half the Cabinet could be replaced
The Gujarat Cabinet consisted of 17 ministers, including the Chief Minister. Out of the 17, eight were Cabinet-rank ministers, and the others were Ministers of State (MoS). It is expected that the new Cabinet could be expanded to 26 or 27 members. According to sources, nearly half of the ministers may be replaced.
It is expected that CM Patel will submit his resignation to Governor Acharya Devvrat later tonight. That resignation, however, will be retained and not formally submitted to the Governor. The decision on the Cabinet reshuffle was conveyed personally to the ministers by BJP national general secretary Sunil Bansal and CM Patel.
Who can be replaced?
Sources confirmed that 10 new ministers would be inducted on Friday. This development follows the appointment of Jagdish Vishwakarma as the new BJP state president.
