The newly appointed Ministers in the Bharatiya Janata Party government of Rajasthan were on January 5 allocated portfolios, with Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma keeping as many as eight departments, including Home and Excise, for himself. Twenty-two Ministers were sworn in at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan here on December 30, while Mr. Sharma and his two deputies took oath earlier.
Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari, elected from Jaipur’s Vidyadhar Nagar, was given Finance, Tourism, Art and Culture, Public Works Department, and Women and Child Development portfolios. Ms. Kumari will present the BJP government’s first budget as the Finance Minister in the State Assembly this year.
Prem Chand Bairwa, who was also appointed the Deputy CM, got technical education, higher education, Ayurveda, and Transport and Road Safety portfolios. Governor Kalraj Mishra approved the list of portfolios for the newly inducted Ministers, as proposed by CM Sharma earlier in the day.
A Raj Bhavan communique said the Governor had approved a proposal of the Chief Minister to distribute departments in the Council of Ministers. In addition to home and excise, Mr. Sharma took charge of Anti-Corruption Bureau, personnel, planning, general administration, policy formulation and information and public relations departments.
The Council of Ministers comprises 15 Cabinet-rank Ministers, five Ministers of State (independent charge) and five Ministers of State. The portfolio allocation took about a week, as the BJP’s central leadership considered all aspects before handing over responsibilities to the Ministers, most of whom are first-timers.
Among the Cabinet Ministers, Kirodi Lal Meena got agriculture, rural development and disaster management, while Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was given Industries, Information Technology, and Youth Affairs and Sports. Both of them had resigned as Members of Parliament after their victory in the 2023 State Assembly election from Sawai Madhopur and Jaipur’s Jhotwara, respectively.
Gajendra Singh Khimsar will be the new Medical and Health Minister, Madan Dilawar Education Minister, Kanhaiya Lal Public Health Engineering Minister, Joga Ram Patel Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Suresh Singh Rawat Water Resources Minister, Avinash Gehlot Social Justice & Empowerment Minister and Sumit Godara Food & Civil Supplies Minister.
Jora Ram Kumawat was given the Animal Husbandry & Dairy Department, Babu Lal Kharadi Tribal Area Development Department and Hemant Meena Revenue Department. Among the Ministers of State (independent charge), Surendra Pal Singh, contesting the deferred Assembly election in Karanpur, was given the Agricultural Marketing and Minority Affairs Departments.
