Express News Service
Gujarat perhaps got its most inexperienced ministry ever on Thursday with as many as 21 of the 24 who took oath of office and secrecy as ministers being first-timers. That the ministry is being led by another first-timer lawmaker Bhupendra Patel indicates that the real power centre has shifted to Delhi.
Not one representative of the outgoing Rupani government figured in the new ministry, obliquely echoing the Opposition’s charges of incompetence. Applying the no-repeat yardstick to form the new government is fraught with challenges of rebellion, but the BJP appears confident of containing it, smug as it is in the understanding that they owe their position as lawmakers to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vote-catching ability.
The first stirrings of resentment came from Mansukh Vasava, BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Baruch. “Baruch district has BJP MLAs but no representation in the new ministry. There is unrest among party workers; it will have consequences,” Vasava warned. Congratulating the new team, Modi said, “These are outstanding karyakartas who have devoted their lives to public service and spreading our party’s development agenda.”
BJP general secretary in-charge of Gujarat Bhupendra Yadav said a combination of factors went into deciding the new team. “We wanted to include fresh, young and experienced faces. They may not have ministerial experience but they got enough administrative exposure. The outgoing ministers have loads of experience; their talents will be used to expand the party’s base,” Yadav said.
As expected, Patidars and OBCs found the biggest representation in the ministry. The new team has seven Patidar ministers, including the CM. Four of them are from Saurashtra, where the BJP did badly in the last elections. It also has two Brahmins, two Kshatriyas, two SCs and four STs.
Modi is known for bold decisions and political innovations, said a veteran Gujarat journalist. “In 2005, after taking charge as Gujarat CM, Modi refused to repeat any incumbent in the local body elections. He fielded new faces and that gamble paid off. Ever since, such experiments are carried out in Gujarat first and replicated elsewhere later,” he said.
Surprise phone callsLike the CM himself, most of the ministers were surprised to get a phone call from state BJP unit chief C R Patil asking them to attend the swearing-in ceremony
