After over a month following BJP’s win in the Rajasthan elections, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Friday allotted portfolios to ministers, keeping eight departments, including home, information and public relations, and excise, for himself.
He has also retained the departments of personnel, planning, information and public relations, and anti-corruption bureau.
Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari will hold the important portfolios of finance, tourism, public works department as well as women and child development, while Prem Chand Bairwa, who was also sworn in as a deputy chief minister on December 15, was allocated technical education, Technical Education Department, Higher Education Department, Unani and Homeopathy (Ayush Department), Transport and Road Safety departments.
Senior Cabinet Minister Kirodi Lal Meena is the new Agriculture minister. Along with this, he will also hold horticulture, rural development, Disaster Relief and Civil Defence and Public Grievance Redressal departments. Former Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been allocated the Industries and Commerce departments along with Information Technology, Youth and Sports Affairs along with Soldiers’ Welfare.
Both of them had resigned from Parliament to fight the Assembly elections in which the BJP bagged 115 out of the 199 seats, result of which was declared on December 3. Barring the CM and the deputy CMs, 22 ministers were sworn in at a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan here on December 30.
The new health minister of Rajasthan is Gajendra Singh Khinvsar, while Madan Dilawar has been allocated Panchayati Raj and School education department.
Kanhaiya Lal has public health and engineering and groundwater departments, and Jogaram will be the minister of parliamentary affairs, law and legal affairs, while Suresh Singh Rawat was allotted the water resources department, Avinash Gehlot social justice and empowerment and Sumit Godara food and civil supplies and consumer affairs.
The tribal area development and the home guards departments were given to Babulal Kharadi, while Hemant Meena got the revenue and colonisation departments.
The ministers of state were also allotted portfolios.
Minister of State (Independent charge) Surendra Pal Singh TT was given the agriculture marketing board, command area development and water utilisation department, Indira Gandhi canal department and the minority affairs department.
Surendra Pal Singh is the BJP’s nominee for the Karanpur seat where polling was held on Friday. He was sworn in as a minister in the ceremony held last week.
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra approved the list of portfolios for the ministers as proposed by the chief minister.