As many as 15 ministers– 11 cabinet and four ministers of state– took oath at the ceremony held at Raj Bhawan. Sunday’s cabinet expansion comes 16 months after Sachin Pilot-led faction rebelled against the Ashok Gehlot government.
The revamped Rajasthan cabinet now has five from the Sachin Pilot camp.The 11 cabinet ministers include three Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajan Lal Jatav and Tikaram Jully– who have been elevated from minister of state (MoS) to cabinet rank, while two — Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena — are those who were sacked last year for rebelling and have been reinducted as cabinet ministers.Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajan Lal Jatav and Tikaram Jully hail from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities.Hemaram Choudhary, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Ramlal Jat, Mahesh Joshi, Govindram Meghwal and Shakuntla Rawat were also sworn in as cabinet ministers, while Zahida Khan, Brijendra Singh Ola, Rajendra Gudha and Murari Lal Meena were sworn in as MoS.A total of three women– Mamta Bhupesh, Shakuntla Rawat, and Zahida Khan– were sworn in as ministers on Sunday.
Additionally, for the first time, the Rajasthan cabinet has four Dalit ministers – Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajanlal Jatav, Tikaram Juli, and Govind Meghwal. Meanwhile, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said all communities – including Dalits, tribals and women – have been given proper representation in the new cabinet. “The new cabinet list sends out a good message,” he said.
