Rajasthan Cabinet Reshuffle Highlights: 15 ministers sworn in; Congress will win 2023 elections, says CM Gehlot

Rajendra Gudda and Zahida Khan, one of the three women taking oath on Sunday, were sworn in as Ministers of State in the Rajasthan government. A total of four MoS took oath at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur, including Brijendra Singh Ola and Murarilal Meena.

Govind Ram Meghwal and Shakuntala Rawat were sworn in as Cabinet ministers on Sunday. Meanwhile, Brijendra Singh Ola and Murarilal Meena, both of whom belong to the Pilot camp were sworn in as Ministers of State.

Bhajan Lal Jatav, Mamta Bhupesh and Tikaram Jully, who have been elevated to Cabinet rank, were sworn in by the Rajasthan governor on Sunday. All three ministers are Dalit faces in the state cabinet.

Ramesh Meena, a Sachin Pilot loyalist, too took the oath.

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra inducted MLAs Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Ramlal Jat, Mahesh Joshi, and Vishvendra Singh into the Cabinet on Sunday.

Hemaram Choudhary, a Sachin Pilot loyalist, took oath on Sunday at the Raj Bhawan as a Cabinet minister.

The cabinet reshuffle in the Ashok Gahlot government has fulfilled the expectations of all and there is no resentment within the party, Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra claimed on Sunday.

The Congress will soon organise programmes at its state unit headquarters for the party workers to share their grievances. The feedback will be sent to the party high command and the chief minister, he told reporters.

"Enthusiasm among the party leaders and workers reflects that the government has done a good job. The party has won all elections, be it of local bodies, panchayats or assembly bypolls. The results have been in our favour. We are confident the Congress will again form government in 2023," Dotasra said. (PTI)

Shakuntala Rawat and Zahida are set to take oath as new ministers while Mamta Bhupesh will be taking oath as cabinet minister after elevation to cabinet rank from minister of state, taking the total number of women in the Ashok Gehlot cabinet to three.

"There was indeed a need to increase the participation of women in the cabinet. I am happy that two new faces will be inducted," Bhupesh told reporters. "Congress party promotes women. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi had taken the initiative to empower women and women leadership," she said. While Zahida said, "I am happy that women are being prompted and given opportunities," PTI reported.

However, speaking to ANI, Congress MLA Shafia Zubair stated, "The Cabinet's structure could've been better. Those with a bad reputation have been promoted. Overall, Cabinet is not sending a good message. Women didn't get 33% reservation (in the Cabinet)."

Fifteen out of the total 108 Congress MLAs in the House of 200 are women. 

Congress MLA Johari Lal Meena on Sunday stated that he is against the elevation of Tikaram Jully to cabinet rank. "In our district (Alwar), it is well known that Tikaram Jully is a corrupt man and that his family is involved in the collection. I asked the party leadership to remove him but instead, he has been made a minister," the MLA was quoted as saying by ANI.

However, Jully refuted these allegations, saying, "He (MLA Johari Lal Meena) is a senior leader of the party. I respect him but his allegations are totally baseless. He should come out with proof, if he has any, to back his allegations."

Jully, along with Bhajan Lal Jatav and Mamta Bhupesh, earlier stated that their promotion was reward for their work and dedication, PTI reported.  All three ministers are Dalit faces in the state cabinet.

Taking to Twitter, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot congratulated all ministers who will be taking oath on Sunday, adding that together they will win the 2023 Assembly elections and form the government in the state, once again.

"By giving victory to the Congress party in the assembly by-elections and local bodies elections, the people of the state have given us a stamp of good governance. We all have to maintain this trust of the public in the times to come. For this, the work has to be continued with full hard work and dedication," Gehlot tweeted. 

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress in-charge of the state, Ajay Maken, have arrived at the party office in Jaipur ahead of the oath-taking ceremony.

Speaking to reporters in Jaipur on Sunday, Sachin Pilot asserted that there is no division or factionalism within the party and that the Congress will have to work together to inform the public about the “bad deeds” of the BJP. The newly declared faces in the Rajasthan council of ministers include four Dalits, three tribals and three women, among whom one is from the minority community.

He added that the reshuffle has been done after taking feedback from all leaders and party workers.

On his role in the party, Pilot said he will continue to abide by all instructions given by the Congress party and take up any responsibility entrusted to him. “In the Congress party, elections are fought under collective leadership under the leadership of Sonia ji and Rahul ji. Earlier too we had contested elections under collective leadership, we will continue to do so. The work I had done in 2013, I worked harder in 2018, will do more in 2023 and 2028,” said Pilot on his role in the state. Read more

Congress leader and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Sunday said the Cabinet reshuffle initiated by the Ashok Gehlot government has sent a positive message across the state and denied any factionalism in the party. Pilot, who was sacked as the deputy chief minister due to rebellion last year, said he is happy that the issues he had raised, including increasing the representation of Dalits in the Cabinet, have been addressed.

"Four Dalits have been included in the Cabinet. This is a big message. At the same time, the representation of tribals and women has been increased. This was a necessary step and the party and the government worked hard to take it forward," Pilot told reporters. (PTI)

At a press conference ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of 15 MLAs in Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot said: "I had met party president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, we discussed a lot of issues. I carried out all responsibilities given to me by the party in last 20 years, with dedication. In the time to come, I will work wherever the party sends me." 

Sachin Pilot hailed the inclusion of four Dalit ministers in the new Rajasthan Cabinet. "It's a message that AICC, State government and party wants representation for Dalits, backward and poor," he said. "For a long time, there was no Dalit representation in our govt, it's now been made up for and they've been included in good numbers." (ANI)

The new names included in the council of ministers in Rajasthan, as part of the long-due cabinet reshuffle in the state, were announced Saturday evening. Accommodating MLAs loyal to both Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, the new faces have been decided as part of an effort to broker a truce between the warring factions within the state Congress and also to ensure representation of communities whose electoral support will be crucial for the party in the 2023 Assembly elections.

Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra shared a list of 15 MLAs who will take oath on Sunday. The new Rajasthan cabinet will have 12 new faces, including five ministers from the Sachin Pilot camp. 

Pilot "loyalists" MLAs Hemaram Choudhary, Vishvendra Singh, Murari Lal Meena, Ramesh Meena and Brijendra Ola, will be part of the cabinet of Ashok Gehlot after the reshuffle. 

Hemaram Chaudhary, Mahendrajit Singh Malviya, Ramlal Jat, Mahesh Joshi, Vishvendra Singh, Ramesh Meena, Mamta Bhupesh Bhairwa, Bhajanlal Jatav, Tikaram Juli, Govind Ram Meghwal and Shakuntala Rawat are among the new ministers to take oath as cabinet ministers.

Those who will take oath as the new ministers of state are Brijendra Singh Ola, Zahida Khan, Muralilal Meena  and Rajendra Dudha. Gudha is a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA who later joined the Congress.

For the first time since it took charge in 2018 and about 16 months after a rebellion led by then Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot pushed it to the brink, the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan state government will see a Cabinet reshuffle.