Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday redistributed all key portfolios among her Cabinet colleagues,replacing one minister with her old-time loyalist,a move sources close to her said would keep her detractors on a tight leash. Social Welfare and Labour Minister Mangat Ram Singhal was shown the door and three-time legislator from Rajinder Nagar and former journalist Ramakant Goswami made his debut as a minister,with Industries,Labour and Elections portfolio. Goswami was Dikshits parliamentary secretary in 2001,Congresss chief whip in the Delhi assembly in 2003 and the vice-chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board,which Dikshit heads. All ministers except Transport and Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely were cut to size as they lost what government officials and politicians said were portfolios close to their heart. Just over two years into her third term as the Chief Minister,Dikshit described the revamp as an exercise to bring fresh thoughts into the Cabinet and said the reshuffle has been made with blessings from the party high-command. The idea is to bring fresh air into the Cabinet with a fresh face. Our commitment to the people and to the work we are doing remains as it is. While carrying out the exercise,care has been taken to ensure continuity, Dikshit said. Ramakant Goswami was sworn in by the Lieutenant-Governor on Wednesday afternoon. All ministers will assume their new portfolios from Thursday. Dikshit had begun creating a base for the reshuffle to stamp her authority when her detractors started building up momentum to oust her soon after the Commonwealth Games ended last October,a source close to her said. There was a need to infuse life into the Cabinet. The total revamp would keep everyone at bay for quite some time now and discourage detractors from attempting to dislodge her, he said. In the reshuffle,Dikshit assumed charge of the vital Finance department,taking it away from A K Walia,the minister next to her in seniority and who is considered one of her key competitors in state polity. Walia was also stripped of the Land and Building department and the Urban Development department,which is regularising unauthorised colonies,a work Congress hopes to milk in next years municipal elections. Legislators and bureaucrats often complained he had become an obstructionist and was delaying financial approvals to various important projects, one of Dikshits close aides said. Revenue and Flood and Irrigation departments were taken away from Rajkumar Chauhan,while Kiran Walia,who Dikshit had brought into the Cabinet for the first time in 2008,lost her all-important Health portfolio. Haroon Yusuf lost his key Industries portfolio,but he would take heart from the fact he was given two new ones,Power and Development. Arvinder Singh Lovely was the only minister who managed to hang on to all his portfolios,including Transport and Education. Dikshit began work on the reshuffle last year when her team started meeting all Congress legislators of Delhi and taking feedback on how they rated each minister in the Delhi Cabinet. The idea was to assess who was performing and who was not. We then submitted a report to the party high-command and sought a reshuffle to help us run the government properly, one of Dikshits aides said.
