The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed its government in Gujarat for the sevent consecutive term on Monday, as 17 ministers, including CM Bhupendra Patel were sworn in. Apart from him, sixteen other ministers, including eight of cabinet rank, were also sworn in. The new entrants include 11 former ministers.
One of the cabinet ministers who took an oath, was Bhanuben Babariya, the only woman minister sworn in the Gujarat cabinet. Babariya belongs to a Scheduled Caste community.
She is a three-time MLA from Rajkot Rural and won the assembly elections from the same seat, defeating Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Vashrambhai Sagathiya. She also won the 2007 and 2012 Gujarat assembly elections from Rajkot Rural seat.
She defeated the AAP candidate by a margin of 48,494 votes, while the Congress candidate Sagathiya Lakhabhai Jethabhai got only 29,000 votes on the seat.
Apart from Babariya, other cabinet ministers who were sworn in on Monday, were Kanu Desai, Rishikesh Patel, Raghvji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Mulu Bera and Kuber Dindor.
Of these 16 ministers, four belong to the Koli community (Bavaliya, Khabad, Solnaki and Mukesh Patel), three are Patidars (Raghavji, Rishikesh and Praful), three OBCs (Vishwakarma, Parmar and Bera) and two are tribals (Halpati and Dindor).
In the just-concluded Gujarat Assembly elections, counting for which was held on December 8, the BJP won a seventh straight term by winning record 156 seats in the 182-member House. The Congress won 17 constituencies and AAP 5.
Bhupendra Patel, 60, resigned as chief minister along with his entire cabinet on Friday to pave the way for the formation of a new government following the election results.
Read all the Latest Politics News here
