BJP’s Hisar MLA Kamal Gupta and alliance partner Jannayak Janata Party’s (JJP) Devendra Singh Babli from Tohana were on Tuesday inducted into the Haryana cabinet. The second expansion in two years took the state’s council of ministers’ strength to 14, including the chief minister – the maximum permissible in a 90-member assembly.
Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at a brief swearing-in ceremony in Chandigarh.
The BJP has given representation to the Bania community – traditional supporters of the saffron party – by including two-time BJP MLA Dr. Gupta. The JJP has tried to appease its native vote bank, the Jats, by deciding in favor of Mr. Babli.
Though BJP’s Panchukula MLA president Gyan Chand Gupta also belongs to the Bania community, he had no representation in the cabinet. The party’s Palwal MLAs Deepak Mangla and Mr. Gyan Chand Gupta were also in the race for the single ministerial post of BJP’s quota, but Dr. Gupta was the last choice in favor of both the RSS and the state leadership.
Mr Babli left the Congress to join the JJP ahead of the assembly elections in 2019. He was also a strong contender for the ministerial post, defeating former BJP chief Subhash Barala by a record 50,000 votes, one of the highest margins of victory. Assembly elections.
Former IAS and Nangal Choudhary MLA Aabhe Singh Yadav’s name was also doing rounds in the political circles for the past few months, and he was expected to be included in place of Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Justice and Empowerment, Om Prakash Yadav, but the current No changes were made in the Council of Ministers.
After cabinet expansion, BJP has 10 ministers including CM Manohar Lal Khattar and junior partner JJP has three including deputy CM Dushyant Chautala in the alliance. Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala is the only independent MLA who has been made a minister.