 "Anandiben takes oath as Gujarat's first woman CM")
Patel who became the 15th chief minister of Gujarat, succeeds Modi who is going to become the next Prime Minister of India. She has largely kept the same team chosen by Modi with few minor changes. The team of cabinet rank minister remained the same and included Nitin Patel, Ramanlal Vora, Bhupendar Chudasama, Saurabh Patel, Ganpat Vasava and Babu Bokhiria. Five names from the list of ministers of state have been dropped and four new names added.
Names of Deesa MLA Liladhar Vaghela and Limkheda legislator Jasvant Bhahor have been dropped as they have contested from Patan and Dahod Lok Sabha seats respectively and won. They are expected to vacate their assembly seats soon and represent Gujarat in parliament. The other names dropped from the Modi's team of MoS are Purshottam Solanki who is facing charges in an alleged Rs 400 crore fishing contract scam. Vasan Ahir, MLA from Anjar and Parabat Patel from Tharad, who held portfolios of cottage industries and health and family welfare respectively have been dropped.
The new faces in the Patel's cabinet include Shankar Chaudhary (MLA Vav), Tarachand Chheda (Mandvi, Kutch), Bachu Khabad (Devgadh Baria) and Kanti Gamit (Nazir). Those retained from the Modi cabinet include Dilip Thakore (MLA Chanasama), Vasu Trivedi (Jamnagar South), Pradeepsinh Jadeja (Vatva), Chatrasingh Mori (Jambusar), Jaydrathsinh Parmar (Halol), Rajnikant Patel (Bharuch), Govind Patel (Rajkot South), Nanu Vanani (Katargarm), Jayanti Kavadia (Dhrangadhra) and Jayesh Radadiya (Jetpur).
The swearing-in ceremony took place in the presence of top brass of BJP including PM-elect Narendra Modi, party patriarch L K Advani, president Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, former presidents Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari, Subramaniam Swamy and Sushma Swaraj among others. The special invitees also included chief ministers from BJP-ruled and NDA ally states Shivraj Singh Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh) and Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh), Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan), Manohar Parikar (Goa) and Prakash Singh Badal (Punjab).
Patel was unanimously elected as chief minister and leader of ruling party in Gujarat assembly by the BJP MLAs at a meeting held in Town Hall of Gandhinagar on May 21. Formerly the revenue as well as children and women welfare minister in Modi's cabinet, Anandiben Patel has been in the state government since last 10 years.
Apparently, Patel has never lost an Assembly election in her political career.
Beginning from 1998, when she contested from Mandal Assembly seat, to 2012 when she was fielded from Ghatlodiya seat in Ahmedabad city by the party, she has increased her margins every time on her way to becoming the first woman chief minister of Gujarat.
Addressing her party members after being chosen as chief minister of the state, Patel had assured Modi that the strong governance and system put in place by him would be followed in future as well. "As you said, government is for the betterment of the poor. We will never allow any deviation in the development trajectory of Gujarat that you have set over the years. Your words have given us immense encouragement," Patel had said yesterday.
GUJARAT CABINET UNDER ANANDIBEN
Chief Minister: General Administration, Administrative Reforms & Training, Industries, Home, Revenue, Disaster Management, Urban development, Urban housing development, Climate Change, Ports, Information & Broadcasting, Narmada, Kalpsar, Science & Technology, All Policies and subject Matters not allotted to other Ministers
MINISTERS (CABINET)
Nitin Patel: Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare, Transport, Planning
Ramanlal Vora: Social Justice and Empowerment (including welfare of Scheduled Castes, Welfare of socially and educationally backward classes)
Bhupendar Chudasama: Education (Primary, Secondary and Adult), Higher and Technical Education, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer affairs, Science & Technology
Saurabh Patel: Finance, Energy and Petrochemicals, Mines and Minerals, Cottage Industries, Salt Industries, Printing, Stationery, Planning, Tourism, Civil aviation, Labour and Employment
Ganpat Vasava: Forest and Environment, Tribal Development, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs
Babu Bokhiria: Water Resources (excluding Kalpasar), Water Supply, Agriculture, Co-operation, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Cow Breeding
MINISTERS OF STATE (MoS)
Dilip Thakore: Welfare of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, Labour and Employment
Vasu Trivedi: Higher and Technical Education, Women and Child Welfare.
Pradeepsinh Jadeja: Law and Justice, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Devsthan, Pilgrimage Development, Co-ordination of Voluntary Organizations, Non-resident Gujarati's Division, Protocol, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs
Chatrasingh Mori: Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs
Jaydrathsinh Parmar: Road and Building, Planning
Rajnikant Patel: Home, Police Housing, Border Security, Civil Defence, Home Guards, Gram Rakshak Dal, Prisons, Prohibition, Excise.
Govind Patel: Agriculture and Water Supply, Forest and Environment
Nanu Vanani: Water Resources (excluding Kalpasar), Education (Primary, Secondary and Adult), Sports, Youth Cultural Activities.
Jayanti Kavadia: Panchayat, Rural Housing and Rural Development (Independent charge)
Jayesh Radadiya: Tourism, Civil Aviation
Shankar Choudhary: Health and Family Welfare, Transport, Urban housing development
Tarachand Chheda: Cottage Industries, Salt Industries, cattle breeding
Bachu Khabad: Animla Husbandry and Fisheries
Kanti Gamit: Tribal Development