Patel took oath as chief minister for the second time in a row. He was chosen as the chief minister in September 2021 after the BJP leadership replaced the Vijay Rupani-led state government with a new set of faces.
Sixteen other ministers, including eight of cabinet rank, were also sworn in. The new entrants include 11 former ministers.
The Cabinet ministers include Kanu Desai, Rishikesh Patel, Raghvji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Mulu Bera, Kuber Dindor and Bhanuben Babariya.
Harsh Sanghvi and Jagdish Vishwakarma were sworn in as ministers of state with independent charge.
The six other ministers of state include Parshottam Solanki, Bachu Khabad, Mukesh Patel, Praful Pansheriya, Kuverji Halpati and Bhikhusinh Parmar.
Earlier on Friday, Patel, 60, resigned as chief minister along with his entire cabinet to pave the way for theformation of a new government following the announcement of state assembly election results. A day later, on Saturday, Bhupendra Patel was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party, after which he met the governor and staked the claim to form the next government.
The ruling BJP won a record seventh term in the recently concluded Gujarat assembly election, winning 156 of the total 182 seats of the legislative assembly. The Congress won 17 seats and AAP won five.
CM-elect Bhupendra Patel won the Ghatlodia assembly seat with the highest margin of 1. 92 lakh votes in the election. Meanwhile, hectic consultations are on in BJP for picking ministerial candidates. Given the historic mandate, the party will have to walk the tightrope of balancing caste and regional representations, sources said.
According to the top leaders, those being picked for the ministerial berths are likely to be informed about the same late on Sunday night.
