Rivaba Jadeja, wife of popular Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, has been included in the new Gujarat cabinet announced on Friday. Jamnagar North MLA is among the new 26-member cabinet who are set to take oath in Ahmedabad.
All Gujarat ministers handed in their resignations on Thursday, except Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. It was a step taken, said a senior BJP leader. The leader further added that to enable Patel and the party leadership sufficient time to strategize a "strategic reset" before the local body polls and the 2027 assembly polls as they were asked to do so by Wednesday afternoon.
Governor approves swearing-in ceremony
On Friday, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel met Governor Acharya Devvrat at Raj Bhavan and formally requested approval to hold the swearing-in of the new cabinet members. Posting on X, the Governor of Gujarat wrote, " Chief Minister Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel ji visited Raj Bhavan today and paid a courtesy call. During this time, the Chief Minister acquainted with the current status of the Gujarat cabinet and sought permission to organize the swearing-in ceremony for the new cabinet members.”
The previous council of ministers consisted of eight cabinet rank ministers, two ministers of state of independent charge, and six ministers of state. Gujarat's assembly has 182 members and can have a maximum of 27 ministers, constituting 15 per cent of the House strength.
About Rivaba Jadeja
In 2019, Rivaba joined BJP and subsequently became the BJP candidate from Jamnagar North in Gujarat Assembly elections in 2022. Ravindra Jadeja also campaigned for her in the polls, which she won with a margin of over 50,000 votes.
Her nearest rival was Aam Aadmi Party's Karshanbhai Karmur, who managed 23 per cent of the vote share. Congress nominee Bipendrasinh Chatursinh Jadeja ranked third, with 15.5 per cent of the vote share.
