Heralding a new term in Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resorted to a show of strength during Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s swearing-in ceremony in Gandhinagar on Tuesday, 26 December.
In all, 18 chief ministers from BJP-ruled states were present on the dais, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. Other dignitaries included senior BJP leader LK Advani and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The ceremony also saw the presence of former BJP stalwarts Keshubhai Patel and Shankersinh Vaghela, as well as former chief minister Anandiben Patel. The ceremony saw 19 ministers take the oath of office, including Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, at the helipad ground inside the new Secretariat complex in Gandhinagar.
In all, 10 ministers have been retained from the old Cabinet, whereas nine are new ministers.