Gandhinagar: In a major overhaul ahead of next year’s Gujarat Assembly elections, the BJP on Thursday inducted 24 ministers, including 21 who have become ministers for the first time, into the Bhupendra Patel-led ministry.
With the fresh inductions, which include two women, the strength of the ministry led by Patel, a first-term MLA and minister, has gone up to 25.
No minister from the earlier Vijay Rupani-led ministry was inducted.
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath to 10 cabinet ministers and 14 ministers of state, including five ministers of state with independent charge.
Political observers say the BJP expects to make an impact ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls with this new-look ministry. The party expects to go into the elections with a clean slate, they added.
Those sworn in at the 1.30 pm Raj Bhavan ceremony include former Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi and former state BJP president Jitu Vaghani.
The ministry formation exercise shows that…