In a major political move ahead of upcoming local body elections, the entire Gujarat cabinet—except Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel—resigned on Thursday, according to sources cited by PTI. The outgoing cabinet included 16 ministers, comprising eight cabinet-rank ministers and nine ministers of state.
A BJP source confirmed, “Resignations of all the 16 ministers have been accepted. Except for Chief Minister Patel, all ministers have stepped down.”
The reshuffle comes nearly three years into the government’s current term and just months before crucial elections for municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats, and taluka panchayats in the state.
Gujarat’s 182-member assembly permits a maximum of 27 ministers, or 15% of the house. The move follows recent party-level changes, including the appointment of MOS Jagdish Vishwakarma as BJP’s Gujarat state president, replacing Union Minister CR Paatil. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had begun his second term on December 12, 2022.
The cabinet expansion is scheduled for Friday at 11:30 am, where Governor Acharya Devvratji will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the newly designated ministers.
