Chandigarh: Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday took oath as Chief Minister of Punjab for a record fifth time as the head of an 18-member cabinet.
His son Sukhbir also took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister for the second
successive term of the SAD-BJP alliance ministry.
The state, with a 117-member assembly, can have under the Constitution, an 18-member cabinet, including the Chief
Minister.
85-year-old Badal senior had headed two full five-year terms from 1997 and 2007. His other terms were in 1977-1980 and 1970-71.
Only one woman Bibi Jagir Kaur, former President of SGPC, has been included in the ministry though eight women of
the alliance (SAD-six, BJP- two) were elected to the assembly.
All the seventeen ministers, who were sworn-in with Parkash Singh Badal, have been accorded the cabinet rank, including Sukhbir who has been named Deputy Chief Minister.
Fourteen of them belong to Shiromani Akali Dal and the
remaining four to its alliance partner BJP.
The Badal family has four members in the cabinet. Besides the father and the son duo, others are Adesh Partap
Singh Kairon (son-in-law of Badal senior) and Bikram Singh
Majithia (brother-in-law of Sukhbir).
PTI
