Patidars, OBCs find equal representation in Gujarat CM's cabinet

The swearing-in ceremony saw the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP National President Amit Shah

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday struck a balance between the Patidars and Other Backward Classes (OBC) while forming the new Cabinet in Gujarat.
 

The oath of office was administered by Governor O P Kohli to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's team of 19 ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. Eight took oath as 

Cabinet ministers and 10 as ministers of state (MoS).

The party has struck a balance by inducting six ministers each from the Patidar and OBC communities, followed by three from Scheduled Tribes (ST), one Dalit and four from the 

general category — two Kshatriyas, one Brahmin and one Jain.

The move gains significance in the light of the recently concluded Assembly elections, which was largely fought on caste lines. Community leaders such as Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh 

Mevani had won from their respective seats. The Patidar quota agitation had also added much fuel to the anti-establishment mood in certain parts of the state. While the BJP had won 

99 of the 182 seats, it recently bagged unconditional support from an independent candidate, taking its tally to 100.

Region-wise, the new Cabinet saw a significant representation from Saurashtra, where the BJP ended up performing poorly. The Cabinet has seven ministers from the region, 

followed by South Gujarat, another epicentre of the Patidar agitation.

The ruling party took care to balance all sorts of representations to ensure it regains the ground lost during the recent elections. For instance, having ceded seats to the Congress in 

rural areas, the BJP has inducted 13 members of legislative assembly (MLAs) from rural areas as ministers; seven were from urban areas.
 

The swearing-in ceremony was held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, central ministers Nitin Gadkari and Ravi Shankar Prasad, senior 

leaders L K Advani and Anandiben Patel, as well as the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Goa, among others.

Some repeats in the ministerial team included Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Pradipsinh Jadeja, Ganpat Vasava, Vasan Ahir and Jayesh Radadiya. 

The BJP also brought in some of its old guards such as former finance minister Saurabh Patel and former state party chief R C Faldu into the Cabinet. The party has dropped former 

minister Babu Bokhiria, who recently defeated Congress heavyweight Arjun Modhwadia from Porbandar. 

While 19 ministers in the Rupani-Patel team are men, the party has inducted one woman MLA, Vibhavriben Dave from Bhavnagar East constituency, as the minister of state.