Kushal Singh succeeds Samant as top order of bureaucracy is shuffled

The Ashok Gehlot government is going for its first cabinet expansion on Saturday. The fresh batch of ministers will to be sworn in at the governor's official residence in Jaipur.

According to reports from the party, 10 MLAs would be sworn in on Saturday. Some of the prominent names who could be inducted in the state cabinet are: Dr Jitendra Singh, Ramlal Jat, Bharosilal Jatav, Ashok Bairwa, Mangilal Garasia, Rajendra Pareek, Pramod Jain Bhaya, Babulal Nagar, Ameen Khan and Gurmeet Singh Kunnar.

Chief minister Gehlot will divest some of the plum ministerial portfolios that he had retained with himself since the first swearing-in ceremony of ministers held in December last year. These departments are: home, finance and taxation, energy, urban development and housing, excise, mining and the public works department. "The chief minister has so far kept charge of 38 departments with him," an official said.

The expansion precedes the crucial time of general elections when Gehlot will have to juggle between the different castes to get the right combination that would help the party win maximum seats in the Lok Sabha polls. Congress has just four of the 25 parliamentary seats in the state while its rival BJP has 21 MPs. So, Congress would be looking to upset the BJP applecart considering that its government is in power in Rajasthan.

The Jats have been aggressively lobbying for an increased share in power in the state. Gehlot is not in a position to ignore their demands particularly when he barely escaped a tirade from the community that was pitching for its own chief minister after the Assembly elections. Then the Gurjar community that has not been represented in the cabinet so far will be looking out for a face from the community.

Gehlot was sworn in as the chief minister of Rajasthan for the second time on December 13 last year. Four days later on December 17, his cabinet was sworn in with 13 ministers, two of them with minister-of-state portfolios. According to norms, Rajasthan can have 30 ministers. Other than home, finance, energy and UDH, he is yet to distribute the departments of personnel, information technology, devasthan, election, information and public relations, civil aviation, science and technology, food and civil supplies, disaster management, agriculture marketing, forest and environment, youth and sports and the local self-government. “Before the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, the Pradesh Congress Committee has organised a reception for the members who will be taken in the cabinet. The Congress MLAs and the probable ministers will gather at the PCC an hour before the official ceremony at the governor’s house,” a party official said.

Expansion precedes LS polls when CM will have to get the right mix of castes so party can win maximum seats in state

DNA Correspondent/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication