Jalandhar The Doaba region, comprising the four districts of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, has got three ministerial berths in the state cabinet. This is three times the lone minister, Sunder Sham Arora from Hoshiarpur the region had, under former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
With the induction of Pargat Singh (Jalandhar Cantonment MLA); Sangat Singh Gilzian from Tanda Urmar (Hoshiarpur) and Rana Gurjit Singh from Kapurthala, three of the four districts have got representation.
The region has 23 assembly segments of the state’s 117. Scheduled Castes (SCs) form around a third of Punjab’s population, the highest in the country. Most of the SC population is concentrated in the Doaba region.
In 2017, after the Congress stormed to power by bagging 77 seats, 15 MLAs were from Doaba, but only Kapurthala MLA, Rana Gurjit made it to the cabinet. In January 2018, Gurjit was dropped after a controversy over mining auction. In April 2018, Arora was inducted into the cabinet.
At the time. Sultanpur Lodhi MLA Navtej Singh Cheema and Sangat Singh Gilzian had expressed their dissent.
MLA Pargat Singh, now a minister, said the three major districts of the region had got representation in the cabinet. “This will certainly help the party in the assembly polls. We are committed to delivering on promises made through our work in 90 days,” he added. Gilzian, who is from the OBC community, said, “The new cabinet is a balanced one. Doaba has also got its due after long.”
{{/usCountry}}MLA Pargat Singh, now a minister, said the three major districts of the region had got representation in the cabinet. “This will certainly help the party in the assembly polls. We are committed to delivering on promises made through our work in 90 days,” he added. Gilzian, who is from the OBC community, said, “The new cabinet is a balanced one. Doaba has also got its due after long.”
{{/usCountry}}A Congress MLA added that the new ministers had to work to balance district interests as well the state’s welfare. “State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has a tough task ahead, as has to tackle internal bickering in Kapurthala district. Rana Gurjit Singh and Sukhpal Singh Khaira have not been accepted fully,” he claimed.