Caste, region politics drive Guj BJP's bold move of fresh faces in cabinet

Led by CM Bhupendra Patel who belongs to the politically influential Patidar community, the cabinet has given maximum exposure to OBC, Patidars, tribals, brahmins, scheduled castes and Jains

In an expected yet bold move, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat has gone with the no-repeat formula by putting up almost all fresh faces in the cabinet of the new chief minister Bhupendra Patel.

With the state assembly elections to be held in December 2022, BJP's caste and region politics is evident in the new list of 24 ministers in the cabinet.

Led by CM Bhupendra Patel who belongs to the politically influential Patidar community, the cabinet has given maximum exposure to the other backward class (OBC), followed by Patidars, tribals, brahmins, scheduled castes (SC) and Jain community. While nine ministers belong to OBC, seven are from Patidar, followed by three from tribal communities. The Brahmin and SC communities have two representations each in the cabinet, apart from one minister from the Jain community.

Of the total 24 ministers, 10 have been appointed in the cabinet rank, while five have bagged the office of ministers of state with independent charge, along with nine ministers of state. The new cabinet took oath in a swearing-in ceremony administered by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat in the presence of outgoing chief minister Vijay Rupani, former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel and BJP state chief C R Paatil.

According to political observers, while it was expected, the strategy to not repeat faces in the cabinet is a new and bold one. "Contrary to expectations, the party has not only appointed fresh faces in cabinet rank but also state with independent charge and ministers of state which is a bold move given that there are assembly elections just over a year later," said an observer.

Prominent among the new ministers are former assembly speaker Rajendra Trivedi and former state party chief Jitu Vaghani, along with two Congress turncoats who had joined BJP Raghavji Patel and Brijesh Merja.

In terms of region, the cabinet representation is reminiscent of the previous assembly polls held in 2017. With Saurashtra and South Gujarat proving a tough nut to crack for BJP in 2017 polls, the ruling party has gone ahead with maximum representation from these two regions.

As a result, while eight ministers are from South Gujarat, seven each are from Saurashtra and Central Gujarat, followed by two from North Gujarat.

Meanwhile, the Kutch region has bagged a representation in form of Bhuj MLA Nimaben Acharya who has been named as the speaker of the state assembly. The party is yet to allocate a portfolio to the new cabinet.