After registering a historic victory in Gujarat, where BJP won a record 156 seats, the focus has now shifted to government formation. Sources have told ABP News that 20-22 MLAs would be inducted in CM-designate Bhupendra Patel's new cabinet. There will be 10-11 ministers while 12-14 MLAs would be made ministers of state.
However, the final call on the names of Cabinet members would be taken by the BJP central leadership in Delhi.
Congress turncoats Hardik Patel, who defeated Amarsinh Thakor of the Aam Aadmi Party in Viramgram by 51,707 votes, and Alpesh Thakor, who won from Gandhinagar South, are likely to be included in the Cabinet.
READ | Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel Resigns, New Cabinet Likely To Take Oath With Him On Dec 12
Ramanbhai Vora, who won from Idar, is likely to be made the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
The other MLAs likely to be included are Anirudh Dave (Mandvi), Shankar Chowdhary (Tharad), Balwant Singh Rajput (Sidhpur), Hrishikesh Patel (Visnagar), Kanubhai Patel (Sanand), Amit Thakar (Vejalpur), Kirit Singh Rana (Limbdi), Kunvarji Bavaliya (Jasdan), Jayesh Radadia (Jetpur), Raghavji Patel (Jamnagar Rural), Mulubhai Bera (Khambhalia), Kaushik Vekaria (Amreli), Heera Solanki (Rajula), Jeetu Vaghani (Bhavnagar West), Pankaj Desai (Nadiad), CK Raulji (Godhra), Mukesh Patel (Olpad), Vinu Moradia (Katargam), Harsh Sanghvi (Majura), Kanubhai Desai (Pardi), Puransh Modi (Surat West), Uday Kangad (Rajkot East) and Balkrishna Shukla (Raopura Vadodara).
Prominent leaders from the SC/ST community who might get inducted in the Cabinet are PC Baranda (Bhiloda), Kuber Dindor (Santrampur), Ganpat Vasava (Mangrol), Naresh Patel (Gandevi), Darshana Deshmukh (Nandod), Rajendra Singh Rathwa (Chhota Udepur), Nimisha Suthar (Morwa Hadf), Manisha Vakil (Vadodara City) and Shambhu Prasad Tundia (Garhda).
On Friday, Bhupendra Patel tendered his resignation along with his entire Cabinet to pave the way for formation of a new government. BJP has already announced that Patel would be the next chief minister of the state.
He is likely to be sworn-in as chief minister for a second time on December 12. BJP has called a legislative party meeting of all the newly-elected MLAs on Saturday morning to elect a new leader.
Riding on the charisma of PM Modi, who addressed 31 election rallies in his home state, the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) steamrolled the opposition Congress and an aggressive Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) by winning 156 of the 182 seats in Gujarat with a vote share of nearly 53 per cent, which is the highest for any party in the western state.
BJP also became the only party other than the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to have won seven straight Assembly elections. The CPI(M), which ruled West Bengal for 34 years from 1977 to 2011, had also won seven straight elections.