New Delhi: The newly-inducted ministers of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal Pradesh cabinet were allotted portfolios on Wednesday (January 11, 2023) with former chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh getting the public works, youth, and sports departments and Dhani Ram Shandil getting the charge of the health and family welfare. While Vikramaditya is the youngest member of the cabinet, Shandil is said to be the eldest. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar distributed the portfolios on the advice of CM Sukhu, three days after the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-inducted ministers.
Sukhu has retained the finance, general administration, home, planning, personnel portfolios, and all other departments not allotted to any minister, while there is no change in the departments of Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who was allotted the jal shakti, transport and language and arts and culture departments.
Chander Kumar has got the agriculture and animal husbandry departments, while Harshwardhan Chauhan has been given the industries, parliamentary affairs and ayush portfolios.
Jagat Singh Negi has been given the departments of revenue, horticulture and tribal development, while former chief minister Thakur Ram Lal’s grandson Rohit Thakur has got the higher, elementary, technical education and vocational and industrial training portfolios.
Anirudh Singh will be the rural development and panchayati raj minister.
The Congress won 40 of the 68 Assembly seats in the polls held in November — 10 from Kangra, seven from Shimla, four each from Una, Solan and Hamirpur, three from Sirmaur, two each from Chamba and Kullu, and one each from Mandi, Bilaspur, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts — and all the regions have to be represented in the cabinet.
Of the nine ministers, five are from the Shimla parliamentary constituency, two from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha segment and one each from the Kangra and Mandi parliamentary constituencies.