In the first cabinet reshuffle in the second innings of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA government, there will be five faces from Gujarat, including two current ones and three new ones.As the Modi government is halfway through its five year term in its second innings, the cabinet was reshuffled on Wednesday, with the country going through one and a half years of the global pandemic.Out of the total 43 new inductees, three faces are from Gujarat.Mansukh Mandaviya, the minister of state for ports, shipping, chemicals and fertilizers has been retained and probably he will be promoted to cabinet rank. Mandaviya holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from Bhavnagar University and is also pursuing a PhD. Mandaviya was a state legislator from nnnn in 2002 to 2007. He was a Rajya Sabha member from 2012 to 2018 and his second term as MP began from 2018. He was also the secretary of the state BJP in 2013 and state general secretary in 2015.The other current face Parshottam Rupala is a minister of state for Panchayati Raj, agriculture and farmer's welfare.
Rupala is an old horse of the BJP and a pillar of the saffron party's success in Gujarat.According to sources in the BJP, Rupala can be given independent charge over the newly created ministry of cooperation. With a vision of 'Sahkar se Samriddhi', this new ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperatives in the country.The three new faces from Gujarat are Darshana Jardosh from Surat, Devusinh Chauhan from Kheda and Dr Mahendrabhai Munjapara from Surendranagar.Serving for the third consecutive term, Darshana Vikram Jardosh has been a Corporator of Surat Municipal Corporation and Member of the Gujarat Social Welfare Board. She has spent 4 decades in public life. She is also the Director of 'Sanskruti', an art and cultural organization. She did her BCom from K P Commerce College, Surat.Devusinh Chauhan, a Diploma Electrical Engineer, is serving his second term as an MP. Prior to that, he was a 2-time MLA. Before entering politics, he served as an Engineer in All India Radio. He represents the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community.Dr Mahendrabhai Munjapara, a newcomer in politics, is a successful Cardiologist and Professor of Medicine from Gujarat. He received his MD degree in General Medicine and Therapeutics from Gujarat University.