The swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was cancelled on Wednesday amid reports of infighting in the BJP over the selection of ministers.
Party sources said that several senior ministers of the previous Vijay Rupani government have been dropped, which triggered protests.
The event was supposed to happen on Wednesday at 2:30 PM. The stage was all set and posters were up at the Raj Bhawan for the ceremony. The party had to tear down the posters that had the date of the ceremony as September 16 after it couldn't resolve the disagreement.
Sources said that over 20 ministers were likely to be inducted into Patel's new cabinet, with the majority of legislators first-timers. The future of former Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja and several other ministers are said to be uncertain. Meanwhile, a group of MLAs and former ministers also visited former chief minister Vijay Rupani.
Later in the day, The Chief Minister Office announced on its Twitter handle that "The swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet of CM Bhupendra Patel will take place tomorrow, September 16, 2021, at 1:30 PM at Raj Bhavan, Gandhinagar."
The BJP denied having scheduled the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday and brushed aside reports of dissent. "We had never planed the ceremony on Wednesday, to begin with. We think that there was some issue with the coordination in the government agency," said BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas. He also denied reports of infighting over berth in the new cabinets.
On Monday, 59-year-old first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel was sworn in as 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat which was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior party leaders. Before returning to Delhi, Shah held a meeting with party leaders when the list of probable ministers was finalised. It is said that it didn't have the names of any of the previous ministers. Meanwhile, several ministers of the Rupani regime were asked to vacate their offices.
Meanwhile, opposition Congress alleged that at a time when people in Saurashtra and other regions are grappling with floods, BJP leaders were busy "pulling down each other to gain power."
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