GANDHINAGAR: A day before Gujarat’s scheduled cabinet expansion, all 16 ministers in the state government — except Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel — tendered their resignations on Thursday, according to BJP sources.
The state government had announced earlier in the day that Patel would expand his cabinet on Friday. “The party has accepted the resignations of all 16 ministers. Apart from Chief Minister Patel, every minister has stepped down,” a BJP source said.
The cabinet expansion is set to take place at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, as per an official statement.
The current council of ministers consists of 17 members, including CM Patel — eight holding cabinet rank and the rest serving as Ministers of State (MoS). Under the constitutional cap, Gujarat’s 182-member assembly allows for a maximum of 27 ministers, equivalent to 15% of the total strength of the House.
Earlier this month, MoS Jagdish Vishwakarma was appointed president of the Gujarat BJP, succeeding Union Minister C. R. Paatil.
Bhupendra Patel was sworn in as chief minister for a second term on December 12, 2022.
