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Punjab: Five new ministers sworn in as Mann rejigs cabinet
This was the fourth cabinet reshuffle of the 30-month-old AAP government. The move is seen as a strategic effort to revitalise governance, particularly in light of the recent Lok Sabha election results, which fell short of the party’s expectations
The Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab on Monday inducted five new ministers in the cabinet.
Governor Gulab Chand Kataria administered the oath of office and secrecy to Hardeep Singh Mundian, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, Ravjot Singh and Mohinder Bhagat as ministers during a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan here. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, among other party leaders, was also present.
This was the fourth cabinet reshuffle of the 30-month-old AAP government. The move is seen as a strategic effort to revitalise governance, particularly in light of the recent Lok Sabha election results, which fell short of the party’s expectations. The AAP is keen on realigning its leadership and approach to better address the needs of the electorate and meet its poll promises.
Currently, the strength of the Mann cabinet is 15, including the chief minister. Earlier, four ministers -- Chetan Singh Jouramajra (public relations, defence services and horticulture), Anmol Gagan Maan (tourism and investment promotion), Balkar Singh (local government and parliamentary affairs) and Bram Shanker Jimpa (revenue) – resigned from the cabinet.
There can be a maximum of 18 ministers in the cabinet. With the induction of five ministers and dropping of four, the strength of the cabinet is 16.
All new five inductees are first-time legislators and took oath in Punjabi. While Ravjot and Bhagat are from the Doaba region, Goyal, Mundian and Sond represent the Malwa belt.
The new ministers include two Dalits (Bhagat and Ravjot), a Hindu face (Goyal), and two Sikhs (Sond and Mundian), reflecting party’s commitment to diverse representation.
The Mann government also distributed portfolios to the new inductees. Mundian was allocated the important portfolios of revenue, rehabilitation and disaster management, water supply and sanitation, and housing and urban development. Goyal was given mines and geology, water resources, and conservation of land and water, while Sond got tourism and culture affairs, investment promotion, labour, hospitality, industry and commerce, and rural development and panchayats.
Ravjot Singh was given the portfolios of local government and parliamentary affairs while Bhagat was given defence services welfare, freedom fighters, and horticulture.
Mann shed three portfolios of jail, industry and commerce, and housing and urban development. The jail portfolio has been given to transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar while rural development and panchayats were taken from him. Education minister Harjot Singh Bains has been given the portfolio of information and public relations. The portfolios of Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, Baljit Kaur, Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal, Dr Balbir Singh, Lal Singh Kataruchak, Harbhajan Singh and Gurmeet Singh Khudian remained unchanged.
The cabinet rejig came days after AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal was released from Tihar Jail upon being granted bail by the Supreme Court in the excise policy case.
Goyal, an MLA from the Lehra Assembly seat in Sangrur district, belongs to the Bania community. He had defeated former finance minister Parmider Singh Dhindsa and former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal in the 2022 Assembly election.
Bhagat is an MLA from Jalandhar West. He had won the Jalandhar West bypoll in July after defeating BJP’s Sheetal Angural.
The son of former minister and former BJP MLA Bhagat Chunni Lal, Bhagat joined the AAP after quitting the BJP last year. He had unsuccessfully contested this seat in the 2017 and 2022 assembly elections on a BJP ticket.
Ravjot is an MLA from the Sham Chaurasi assembly seat. A doctor by profession, he unsuccessfully contested the 2017 assembly polls and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Mundian is the MLA from the Sahnewal Assembly segment while Sond is an MLA from the Khanna assembly seat.
