Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Wednesday inducted nine ministers in his ministry as part of the maiden expansion of the new government.
Five of the ministers--Brijmohan Agrawal, Amar Agrawal, Punnulal Mohle, Rajesh Munat and Kedar Kashyap-- who were administered the oath of office by Governor Shekhar Dutt, retained their ministerial berths.
According to BJP sources, the next Cabinet expansion will take place only after the 2014 LS polls.
The four newcomers, who got the nod, include former Assembly Speaker Prem Prakash
Pandey; former minister Ajay Chandrakar and two MLAs-- state BJP chief Ramsewak Paikra and Ramsheela Sahu– who were being drafted into the Cabinet for the first time. Sahu, incidentally, is also the lone woman member in the Singh Cabinet.
As per the Constitutional rules, the state can have a total of 13 ministers, including the CM.Soon after the swearing-in, the ministers were allotted their respective portfolios by the CM.
Paikra, a relatively weak leader, has been given the plum Home portfolio. The BJP’s tribal face from Surguja, Paikra is only the second tribal leader after his predecessor Nankiram Kanwar to become the state Home Minister.The latter had lost the election this time round.
Senior leader Brijmohan, a known Chouhan baiter, has been given the Agriculture Department. And Amar has been given Health,while Pandey got the key Revenue Department.