Gujarat cabinet expansion: CM Bhupendra Patel says oath-taking at 1.30 pm tomorrow

New Delhi, Sep 15: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has said that an expansion of the state cabinet will take place on Thursday. The swearing-in of the new ministers, as part of the cabinet expansion, will take place at 1.30 pm tomorrow in the state capital Gandhinagar.

"The swearing-in ceremony of ministers will take place at 1.30 pm on Thursday," Manish Bharadwaj, officer on special duty to Governor Acharya Devvrat, told PTI.

Reportedly, the cabinet expansion has been delayed by a day amid reports of major infighting in the Gujarat BJP.

Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas had in the morning said the ceremony was scheduled after 2 pm in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.

Neither the BJP nor the state government gave any reason for the postponement. Gujarat BJP in-charge Bhupender Yadav has been holding marathon meetings in Gandhinagar for the last two days to finalise the names to be included in the new cabinet.

There is talk that Patel may induct many new faces in his cabinet and several old-timers may have to make way for them.

Patel (59) took over as the Gujarat chief minister on Monday after the sudden resignation of Vijay Rupani on Saturday. He was unanimously elected BJP legislature party leader on Sunday and was sworn in as the state's 17th chief minister by the governor in Gandhinagar on Monday.

Only he took the oath at the ceremony. Patel's elevation is being attributed to his closeness to former Gujarat chief minister and current Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. With the state Assembly electionsscheduled in December 2022, the BJP is banking on Patel, a Patidar, for poll victory.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP won 99 of the 182 seats and the Congress got 77.