Brand new ministers take oath in Gujarat; none from team Rupani

The new Gujarat ministry of 24 ministers, including 10 of cabinet rank and 14 ministers of state, was sworn in at Gandhinagar on Thursday. Not a single minister from the previous Rupani regime has been included in the new ministry.

While the swearing-in ceremony was delayed by a day due to resistance from some members of the Rupani Cabinet, the BJP high command ensured the enforcement of its diktat that none from the old brigade be included.

While former Speaker Rajendra Trivedi has been given Cabinet rank with revenue, law and parliamentary affairs, former BJP president Jitu Vaghani is the Cabinet minister for education. Patidar leader Hrishikesh Patel from North Gujarat is the cabinet minister for health and family welfare, Kanu Desai was given finance while Congress turncoat Raghavji Patel is the cabinet minister for agriculture and cow protection.

Among the ministers of state, Harsh Sanghvi, a young MLA from Majura, Surat, has been given charge of sports, youth and home; Congress turncoat from Saurashtra, Brijesh Merja, got labour, employment and panchayat; and Manisha Vakil has been given ministry of women and child welfare.

The ministry comprises seven Patidars, seven OBCs, three ST, two SC, two brahmin, two Kshatriya and a Jain minister, indicating the serious concern that the BJP has towards balancing caste equations ahead of the 2022 assembly elections.

The new cabinet has a healthy mix of regional representation with three ministers from Ahmedabad, three from North Gujarat, six from Central Gujarat, seven from South Gujarat and seven ministers from Saurashtra.

The fact that BJP Gujarat president CR Patil has a firm grip on the situation was evident on the first day when he asked the new ministers to stay away from their constituencies till September 27 so as not to waste time on celebrations and start working on their departments.

Observers maintain that the surprise resignation of Vijay Rupani on September 11 followed by the purge of the entire Cabinet is aimed at countering the two decades of anti-incumbency and to deflect the impact of the pandemic and the economic woes plaguing the state.

The party is also facing a new challenge from the Aam Adam Party (AAP) that is fast emerging as a force to reckon with, especially in South Gujarat and Saurashtra.

In fact, former minister and Varachha (Surat) MLA Kumar Kanani told the media that the BJP will find it hard to win Varachha in 2022 as AAP has grown a massive support base in the constituency. The statement assumes significance as Varachha is a Patidar-dominated region that had contributed to AAP’s spectacular show in the Surat municipal election where the party wiped out the opposition Congress.