Gandhinagar: The BJP in Gujarat has overhauled the Gujarat government, forcing most of the cabinet to resign, save 6 ministers, including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi in an event at Gandhinagar earlier on October 17.
This move was necessitated due to the resignation of all ministers earlier this week, especially as the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)-led government looks to prepare for the upcoming civic and assembly elections way ahead in advance.
There were strong rumors about a potential reshuffle in the Gujarat cabinet after long time Navsari MP CR Paatil was replaced by Jagdish Vishwakarma as the new president of the state BJP unit earlier this month. Sources have told ANI that Vishwakarma will not be included in the council of ministers this time due to the BJP’s ‘one person, one post’ policy.
This reshuffle has been the biggest in Gujarat since 2021, when late Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his entire cabinet stepped down on the directions of the BJP high command.
#WATCH | Gandhinagar | Harsh Sanghavi takes oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat pic.twitter.com/rJ5fYP4utC
— ANI (@ANI) October 17, 2025
Besides CM Bhupendra Patel, Rushikesh Patel, Kanubhai Desai, Praful Panseriya, Kunwarji Bavaliya, Parshottam Solanki and Harsh Sanghavi have been retained.
Amongst the 19 new ministers, eight are from the OBC community, six are from Patidar community, three are SCs, two are Kshatriyas with four tribals, indicated a balanced approach to portfolio allocation. BJP has also elevated Rivaba Jadeja, wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja as a minister in the cabinet.
Though such reshuffles are a periodic occurrence, replacing the entire cabinet has raised eyebrows.
“The fact that such a cabinet reshuffle is happening shows that things are not the best in the cabinet. Many ministers have been underperforming,” a senior journalist, covering the BJP and Gujarat’s government for years, said.
“The reshuffle is being presented as a formal exercise. In the last two years, multiple reshuffles have already taken place. Does that happen in a well-run government?”
