On Sunday, 12 new ministers and three Ministers of State who would be raised to Cabinet level were sworn in at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress in-charge of the state, Ajay Maken, spoke to MLAs and other party leaders at the party office in Jaipur before of the ceremony. Gehlot took to Twitter to discuss the impending Assembly elections, predicting that Congress will rule the government once more in 2023.
The reshuffle comes 16 months after the Congress administration in Rajasthan weathered a revolt headed by then-Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. On Sunday, fifteen ministers, 11 cabinet members, and four state ministers were sworn in in Rajasthan. The new ministers were sworn into office by Governor Kalraj Mishra.
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Three cabinet members, Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajan Lal Jatav, and Tikaram Jully, have been promoted from minister of state to cabinet minister, while two others, Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena, were ousted last year for rebelling and have been reinstated as cabinet ministers. According to party sources, the chief minister will pick 15 parliamentary secretaries and seven advisers.
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This will provide accommodation for 22 MLAs who had hoped to be appointed to the government. According to party insiders, those who are left out would be granted additional political jobs as chairpersons of different boards and businesses. Rajendra Gudda and Zahida Khan, one of three women sworn in as Ministers of State in the Rajasthan cabinet on Sunday, were sworn in. Brijendra Singh Ola and Murarilal Meena were among the four Ministers of State who took oath at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur. On Sunday, Cabinet ministers Govind Ram Meghwal and Shakuntala Rawat were sworn in.
