Key ministers back in Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani's new cabinet

Saurabh Patel back as finance, energy minister; Bhupendra Chudasama retains education

Two days after taking the oath of office, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and deputy CM Nitin Patel finally announced portfolios for the new cabinet of 18 other ministers on late Thursday night.

The new cabinet saw some of the key experienced ministers regaining their past portfolios. Among these was Saurabh Patel who bagged finance and energy while Bhupendra Chudasama retained education.

The announcement came after a delay of four hours on Thursday. However, Rupani had attributed the delay in announcement of portfolios to a late approval from party high command who were debating on Triple Talaq bill in Lok Sabha.

Earlier, Saurabh Patel had been dropped when Rupani took charge for the first time as CM in 2016. Since then, deputy CM Nitin Patel had held the finance portfolio which has now gone to the experienced Saurabh Patel. Apart from finance, Nitin Patel also lost urban development and town planning, as well as petrochemicals.

Rupani kept for himself portfolios of industry, home, urban development, ports, mines and minerals, and petroleum, among others, while Nitin Patel was given fresh portfolios of health and family welfare besides retaining old portfolios of roads and buildings, Narmada, Kalpasar and Patnagar yojana.

Further, Chudasama's key portfolio revenue went to newly inducted minister Kaushik Patel, who was earlier in the Narendra Modi cabinet between 2002 and 2007.

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president R C Faldu, who was inducted as a cabinet minister bagged agriculture and rural development, apart from fisheries. Among the new entrants, Ishwarbhai Parmar was allotted social justice and empowerment ministry.

Among the ministers of state (MoS), Pradipsinh Jadeja retained his previous portfolio of home, law and justice, along with a new portfolio of energy. Having won from Varachha seat despite Patidar agitation and anti-establishment wave due to GST, MoS Kishor Kanani from Surat was allotted health and family welfare as well as medical education.

Other ministers of the state including Jayesh Radadiya, Dilip Thakor and Ganpat Vasava retained their previous portfolios of food and civil supplies, labour and employment, and forest, tribal development and tourism, among others.

Meanwhile, MoS Vibhavari Dave, the only female minister in Rupani's new team bagged women and child welfare along with primary and higher education.