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15 ministers to join Ashok Gehlot Team today in Rajasthan

Ashok Gehlot

Jaipur: Five Sachin Pilot loyalists will be among the 30 ministers in Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s refreshed cabinet, it was revealed Saturday night. Gehlot’s new-look cabinet will also have 15 new faces, four of whom will be junior ministers.

Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena – two Pilot loyalists sacked with him last year – make a return to the Rajasthan cabinet.

Of the five MLAs loyal to former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot – whose rebellion last year almost cost the Congress its government – Hemaram Choudhary, Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena will be sworn in as ministers. Brijendra Singh Ola and Murari Lal Meena will be sworn in as Ministers of State.

Vishvendra Singh – a two-time MLA from Deeg-Kumher – and Ramesh Meena – the MLA from Sapotra – make a triumphant return to the Rajasthan cabinet after being sacked by Chief Minister Gehlot in July last year, along with Sachin Pilot. Mr Singh held the Tourism and Devasthan ministries and Mr Meena the Food and Consumer Affairs departments. Hemaram Choudhary is a six-term MLA from Gudamalani, and former Revenue Minister.

The other new faces will be Mahendrajit Singh Malviya, Ramlal Jat, Mahesh Joshi, Mamta Bhupesh, Tikaram Julie, Bhajan Lal Jatav, Govind Ram Meghwal and Shakuntala Rawat. Zahida Khan and Rajendra Singh Gudha will be made Ministers of State.

It is unclear what role Sachin Pilot will be given after the cabinet reshuffle. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reportedly want Mr Pilot to take charge of party affairs in Gujarat, ahead of elections in Prime Minister Modi’s home state next year. However, sources said Mr Pilot remains focused on Rajasthan, where he hopes to be made Chief Minister.

The countdown to today’s reshuffle began with meetings between Mr Pilot and senior Congress leaders in Delhi, including Mr Gandhi, Mrs Gandhi Vadra and party chief Sonia Gandhi. Earlier this week Mr Pilot said he would like to see a mix of youth and experience – in the government and party leadership. Asked about his ambitions, he said he would do what the party asked.

Meetings were also held between Chief Minister Gehlot and the party’s senior leaders. Mrs Gandhi Vadra was present at a meeting last week (Mr Gandhi was not) and the issue of a cabinet reshuffle and appointments to state corporations was high on the agenda, sources said.

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Vizag: Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Tuesday said that what happened to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka Assembly polls was just a ‘trailer’ and that a ‘real cinema’ would be shown in 2019 general election.

Speaking at the ‘Dharma Poratam Sabha’ in Vizag, the IT and Rural Development Minister said “Telugu people showed you just a trailer in Karnataka elections. They will show you the full movie in 2019 elections.”

Attacking the Bhartiya Janta Party, the TDP leader said Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had collaborated with the BJP in 2014 hoping that the new government at the Centre would help the state but all went in vain.”

“We had a tie-up with the BJP in 2014 elections. The TDP had given an opportunity to BJP leaders who can’t win as ward members. TDP made victory possible for BJP MLAs and MLCs,” he added.

Commenting on the decline of Congress party, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that the BJP will soon take the position of the Congress in the country, referring to the diminishing political presence of the grand old party in the nation. N. Chandrababu Naidu was also present in the event.

Earlier in March, TDP had quit the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the issue of special status for Andhra Pradesh.

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