Jaipur: (Nishant Shrivastava)Twenty-three legislators of Rajasthan were on Monday sworn in as ministers--13 as Cabinet ministers and 10 as Ministers of State at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur. !3 districts were not given any birth in the new cabinet. Udaipur, Rajsamand pratapgarh and Dungarpur were ignored in the cabinet on performance ground and group-ism that reflects in assembly results
Governor Kalyan Singh administered the oath of office to the newly inducted ministers at a special swearing-in ceremony.Of this, seven cabinets and 10 MoS are first-time ministers in the Gehlot government.BD Kalla, Shanti Kumar Dhariwal, ParsadiLalMeena, Master BhanwarLalMeghwal, Lal Chand Kataria and Pramod Jain Bhaya (all cabinet) are old Congress veterans in the government.
The cabinet includes Bharatpur’s ex-royal MLA Vishwendra Singh, sole minority minister Saleh Mohammad from Pokhran, woman MLA MamtaBhupesh, and Congress’s alliance partner of RLD SubhashGarg, BS Shekhawat’s nephew Pratap Singh Khachariawas, former Congress whip Govind Singh Dotasarand, and Raghu Sharma.Among others who got the approval of Congress president Rahul Gandhi are Harish Choudhary, Ramesh Chand Meena, UdailalAanjana, ArjunBamania, Bhanwar Singh Bhati, SukhramVishnoi, Ashok Chandana, TikaramJuli, BhajanLalYadav, and RajendraYadav.
Sidelining seniors likely …
Several stalwarts were missing from the cabinet expansion carried out, could prove counter-productive for the party ahead of the LokSabha elections.
However, big names such as CP Joshi, Mahendrajit Singh Malviya, Daya Ram Parmar, Rajendra Pareek, Deependra Singh, Mahesh Joshi, Brijendra Ola, Jitendra Singh, Bharat Singh, Hemaram Chaudhary and Parasram Mordia did not find a place in the cabinet.There were some protests by supporters of MLAS Muralilal Meena from Dausa, HemaramChaudhary from Gudamalani in Barmer district and Zahida from Kaman in Bharatpur district.
Our group editor are of view that ignoring senior leaders could prove counter-productive for the party. “There can be some loss to the party. The ground reality can be different from the perception here.” Sources said CP Joshi is likely to be the only MLA who will contest the LokSabha elections while other leaders will be given posts as heads of commissions and boards.
Know states new ministers
Cabinet Ministers
1. KallaBulaki Das (Bikaner-west),69, postgraduate in economics and law graduate: A six-time MLA, Kalla is the face of the Brahmin community in the state. He held various portfolios, including education, health, urban development and housing department in the 1998 cabinet of Ashok Gehlot. He was also the president of Congress state unit.
2. ParsadiLalMeena (Lalsot),67, senior secondary: A veteran leader of the party, Meena was elected as an MLA for the sixth time from Lalsot constituency, which is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe, in Dausa district. He was a minister in the Gehlot cabinet twice in the past.
3. Shanti Dhariwal (Kota North), 75, law graduate: Dhariwal was elected as MLA four times and an MP once. He held the portfolios of home, local self-government, law, justice, art and culture, urban development and housing during the Gehlot government between 2008 and 2013.
4. LalchandKataria (Jhotwara), 50, senior secondary: Kataria, a former Union minister of state for defence as well as rural development, represents the Jat community in the state. He became an MLA for the first time in 2003 from Amer and an MP in 2009.
5. Pramod Jain (Anta), 53, graduate: A former minister, Jain won the elections for the third time this year. He is considered as a tall leader of the party from Hadauti region of the state.
6. Raghu Sharma (Kekri), 60, doctorate in management: Sharma won from the Kekri constituency of Ajmer district for the second time. He represented the KekriLokSabha constituency in the 16th LokSabha. He will take oath as a minister for the first time.
7. Vishvendra Singh (Deeg-kumher),56, senior secondary: A prominent Jat leader, Singh was an MP three times and won the state elections the third time this year. He will be a minister for the first time.
8. Harish Choudhary (Baytoo),
48, postgraduate: A former MP, Choudhary is the national secretary of the Congress party. He is a Jat leader from western Rajasthan and a first-time MLA. He contested two LokSabha elections in 2009 and 2014.
9. Ramesh Meena (Sapotra), 55, engineering graduate: Meena won the election for the third time this year from Sapotra, a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes. He represented the BahujanSamaj Party in 2008 and became the parliamentary secretary of the Congress.
10. Master BhanwarlalMeghwal (Sujangarh), 70, graduate: The former education minister in the last Congress government, Meghwal won the state election for the fifth time this year. He is considered to be a prominent SC leader.
11. Pratap Singh Khachariyawas (Civil Lines), 49, postgraduate in political science: Nephew of former BJP chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Khachariyawas won from Jaipur’s Civil Lines after a gap of five years. Congress spokesperson and Jaipur district president, he had questioned Gehlot’s claim to the CM’S post.
12. UdaiLalAnjana (Nimbahera), 65, senior secondary: Anjana has won from the Nimbahera constituency in Chittorgarh district for the second time this year and was elected to the 12th LokSabha in 1998 from the district.
13. Saleh Mohammad (Pokaran), 41, senior secondary: A controversial leader, Mohammad won the assembly election from Pokaran for the second time. He will be the sole representative of the Muslim community in the cabinet.Ministers of State
14. Govind Singh Dotasara (Lachhmangarh),54, law graduate: Dotasara won the assembly elections for the third time this year from Lachhmangarh in Sikar district. He is also the vice-president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee.
15. MamtaBhupesh (Sikrai), 45, postgraduate in management: A second-time MLA, Bhupesh is the only woman face in the cabinet. She was the parliamentary secretary in the previous Congress government.
16. ArjunBamania (Banswara), 55, senior secondary: Bamania is a third-time MLA from Banswara and holds the post of a secretary in the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee.
17. Bhanwar Singh Bhati (Kolayat), 44, graduate: Bhati continued his winning streak this year from Kolayat after defeating veteran BJP leader DevisinghBhati in the last assembly election.
18. SukhramBishnoi (Sanchore), 65, law graduate: Bishnoi has won the Sanchore seat in Jalore district for the second time this year.
19. Ashok Chandna (Hindoli), 34, postgraduate: Chandna is the president of the Rajasthan Youth Congress and was elected to the assembly for the second time from Hindoli in Bundi. Chandna, elected from Hindoli assembly constituency in Bundi district, is the youngest at 34 years
20. TikaramJully (Alwar Rural), 38, law graduate: Jully won from the Alwar Rural seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, for the second time after a gap of five years. He joined the Congress from the BJP in 2008 and won the seat that year.
21. BhajanLalJatav (Weir), 50, secondary: Jatav won the assembly bypoll in 2014 for the first time and was elected again this year. The constituency is a part of Bharatpur district and is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.
22. Rajendra Singh Yadav (Kotputli), 59, graduate: Yadav has won from the Kotputli seat for the second time this year. He was the only Congress leader to win the assembly election in 2013 despite a Modi wave in the state.
23. SubhashGarg from Bharatpur (RashtriyaLok Dal), 59, doctorate: Garg won the assembly election for the first time. The Congress managed to touch the majority mark of 100 with the help of ally RLD’S lone member. Garg is a former chairperson of Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education
