Rajasthan cabinet reshuffle today: Fifteen ministers set to take oath, five from Sachin Pilot camp

(Credits: PTI)

New Delhi: Fifteen new Rajasthan ministers will take oath on Sunday at 4 pm at the Raj Bhavan here as part of the Cabinet reshuffle. The Rajasthan cabinet is set to see twelve new faces, including five from the Sachin Pilot camp, in the reshuffle today. The ministers include 11 Cabinet ministers and four ministers of state (MoS).

The Gehlot government, which came to power in December 2018, will witness a cabinet reshuffle for the first time. 

According to a PTI report, three ministers -- Govind Singh Dotasra, Harish Chaudhary and Raghu Sharma -- have been dropped and their resignations have been accepted by the governor on recommendation of the chief minister while three ministers -- Mamta Bhupesh, Tikaram Jully and Bhajan Lal Jatav-- will be elevated from MoS to cabinet rank.

In this cabinet reshuffle, Sachin Pilot’s loyalists Ramesh Meena and Vishwendra Singh will return to the Ministry, while Brijendra Singh Ola, Hemaram Choudhary and Murarilal Meena will make an entry. Reports suggest that Murarilal Meena and Ola will be inducted as MoS while the other three will be Cabinet ministers.

The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan will have a total of 30 ministers, including 18 who had resigned earlier.

Happy with Rajasthan cabinet reshuffle: Sachin Pilot

Ahead of the oath-taking, state leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday presented a united front.

“New ministers will be sworn in today. The step taken by the party and leadership after discussions is sending a positive message across the state. We had raised this issue time and again. I’m happy that party, high command and state Govt took a cognisance of it,” Pilot said at a press conference today.

All ministers in Gehlot govt resign ahead of Cabinet reshuffle

Earlier, on Friday, Dotasra, Chaudhary and Sharma resigned, followed by resignations from other ministers submitted in a meeting of council of ministers on Saturday.

The resignation of Sharma, Chaudhary and Dotasra was accepted as they hold party positions and the "one man, one post" formula has been applied in the state.

Notably, Sharma has been appointed as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Gujarat and Chaudhary as the AICC in-charge for Punjab. Dotasra is the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief.

The party sources also revealed that three ministers of state -- those who have been elevated to cabinet rank -- are from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, and new Rajasthan cabinet will have four SC members and three ministers from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.

The sources also told PTI that the cabinet will also feature three women -- a Muslim, one from the SC community and a Gujjar.

Among the new ministers to take oath as cabinet ministers are Hemaram Chaudhary, Mahendrajit Singh Malviya, Ramlal Jat, Mahesh Joshi, Vishvendra Singh, Ramesh Meena, Mamta Bhupesh Bhairwa, Bhajanlal Jatav, Tikaram Juli, Govind Ram Meghwal and Shakuntala Rawat.

Those who will take oath as the new ministers of state are Zahida, Brijendra Singh Ola, Rajendra Durha and Muralilal Meena. Mahesh Joshi is the government chief whip.

The demand for a Cabinet reshuffle had been augmenting for the last several months with Pilot’s camp pressing that supporters of the former deputy chief minister be included in the government.

No independent MLA has been given a ministerial berth, while some of them would be included as parliamentary secretaries.

Some former BSP legislators would also be included as parliamentary secretaries, the sources said, adding that some senior MLAs would be made advisers to the chief minister.

After the Congress won bypolls held on two assembly seats recently, the tally of the ruling party has reached to 108 in the house of 200. 

(With agency inputs)