Rajasthan CM Gehlot allocates portfolios; check list of ministers here
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday allocated portfolios to the newly-inducted state ministers. Gehlot retained two important portfolios for himself: Finance and Home. Fifteen new ministers were sworn in on Sunday. Gehlot's new Cabinet is now more diverse, with four Dalits, three tribals, and three women, one among whom is from the minority community.
Why does it matter?
The reshuffling of the Rajasthan Cabinet is believed to be an attempt to end the power tussle between Gehlot and former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot. Reportedly, among the new ministers, five are Pilot's "loyalists." The Congress-led state government had witnessed intense infighting with Pilot's camp openly rebelling against Gehlot in 2020. Once a strong political party, Congress' support base has dwindled over the years.
Who are the new ministers?
Bulaki Das Kalla was allocated the Education Ministry while the health portfolio went to Parsadi Lal Meena. Pramod Jain Bhaya remained the Mines and Petroleum Minister, while Saleh Mohamad was made Minority Affairs minister. The cooperative sector went to Udailal Anjana. Shanti Dhariwal retained the parliamentary affairs ministry. Vishvendra Singh was given the tourism portfolio. He had been removed from the Cabinet last year.
Other portfolio allocations are as follows:
Ramesh Meena, Panchayati Raj; Brijendra Ola, Transport and Road Safety; Bhajan Lal Jatav, PWD; Shakuntala Rawat, Industry, State Enterprises; Lalchand Kataria, Agriculture; Ramlal Jat, Revenue; and Mamta Bhupesh Bhairwa, Women and Child Development.
View the full list of ministers here
'No factions,' says Pilot
Following the reshuffle, Pilot said there were "no factions" in Congress and unity had only made it win the 2018 elections. The reshuffling would send a "good message" across the state, he said. The lack of Dalit representation in the state government has now been compensated, he said. Jatav, Bhairwa, Tikaram Juli, and Govind Ram Meghwal are members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community.
Party hopes for 2023 re-election
Congress' state in-charge Ajay Maken welcomed the reshuffle. Party workers should now aim to break the "tradition of the last few decades in 2023 and get the Congress party re-elected," he said.
