Meet Bhanuben Babariya, the only woman minister in new Gujarat government

Seventeen ministers took oath under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the western Indian state of Gujarat where the saffron party registered a landslide victory last week by capturing 156 out of 182 seats in the state assembly.

The new government is being led by Bhupendra Patel, who also took oath as the chief minister for the second consecutive time after 2021, when he replaced Vijay Rupani.

However, there is only one woman minister in the new Gujarat government and it is Bhanuben Manoharbhai Babariya.

Who is Bhanuben Babariya?

Babariya, who was elected as a legislator from Rajkot Rural constituency in the recently held poll, had a decisive victory over her nearest rivals from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Indian National Congress. She got 119,695 votes (52.54 per cent) as against her nearest rival Vashrambhai Sagathiya's (AAP) 71,201 (31.25 per cent) and Bathwar Sureshkumar Karshanbhai of the Congress with 29,175 votes (12.81 per cent).

With her latest win, Babariya became a member of the legislative assembly for the third time. Currently a councillor of Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Babariya had won the state3 election from Rajkot Rural twice -- in 2007 and 2012.