All 16 ministers in Gujarat submit resignations to CM Patel ahead of cabinet expansion

GANDHINAGAR: A day ahead of the planned cabinet expansion in Gujarat, all 16 ministers except Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel resigned on Thursday, BJP sources said.

Patel will expand his cabinet on Friday, the state government had announced earlier in the morning.

"Resignations of all the 16 ministers have been taken by the party. Except for chief minister Patel, all the ministers have resigned," said a BJP source.

As per the official release, the cabinet expansion will take place at 11.30 am on Friday.

The present council of minister has 17 members including CM Patel. Eight of them are cabinet-rank ministers while the others are Ministers of State (MoS).

Gujarat, which has a 182-member assembly, can have a maximum of 27 ministers (15 per cent of the strength of the House).

Earlier this month, MoS Jagdish Vishwakarma became the new president of the state Bharatiya Janata Party unit, replacing Union minister C R Paatil.

Bhupendra Patel became chief minister for the second time on December 12, 2022.