Ahmedabad, October 16 — A day before Gujarat’s much-anticipated cabinet expansion, all 16 ministers in Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s government tendered their resignations on Thursday, BJP sources confirmed.
“Resignations of all the 16 ministers have been taken by the party. Except for Chief Minister Patel, all the ministers have resigned,” a BJP source said. The move clears the way for a complete overhaul of the state cabinet.
The Gujarat government earlier announced that the cabinet expansion will be held at 11.30 am on Friday at the Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. Patel, who took oath as Chief Minister for the second time on December 12, 2022, is expected to induct new ministers and possibly reshuffle key portfolios as part of the exercise.
The current council of ministers consists of 17 members, including eight cabinet-rank ministers and eight ministers of state. With a 182-member Assembly, Gujarat can have a maximum of 27 ministers—15 per cent of the total strength of the House.
The reshuffle comes shortly after a key organisational change within the party. Earlier this month, Minister of State Jagdish Vishwakarma was appointed as the new president of the Gujarat BJP, succeeding Union Minister C. R. Paatil.
Party insiders noted that the resignations are a procedural step ahead of the new cabinet formation and reflect the BJP’s plan to bring in “fresh faces and balance regional representation” before upcoming political challenges.
