Regional and caste equations kept in mind while selecting ministers
The new chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat has tried to strike the caste and regional balances in his council of ministers which took oath of office and secrecy on Friday. By inducting two new ministers from Kumaon region, the CM has tried to bring a balance between the representation from Garhwal and Kumaon region. After the death of finance minister Prakash Pant the regional balance in the erstwhile Trivendra Singh Rawat cabinet was skewed in favour of Garhwal.
In Trivendra Singh Rawat’s team, Yashpal Arya, Arvind Pandey and Rekha Arya were from Kumaon. After the induction of veteran Bishan Singh Chufal from Didihat in Pithoragarh and Banshidhar Bhagat from Kaladhungi in Nainital district there would be five ministers from Kumaon region and six from Garhwal excluding the CM in the team. With the induction of Bhagat and Ganesh Joshi the CM has increased the representation of Brahmins in his team. In his council of minister there are now four Brahmin ministers (Arvind Pandey, Subodh Uniyal, Banshidhar Bhagat and Ganesh Joshi) and four Rajputs (Satpal Maharaaz, Harak Singh Rawat, Bishan Singh Chufal and Dhan Singh Rawat), two scheduled caste members ( Yashpal Arya and Rekha Arya) and one Other Backward Caste ( Swami Yatishwaranand) member.
The addition of Yatishwaranand (Haridwar rural) has compensated for the loss of Madan Kaushik — who was made State president of BJP– for the Haridwar district. By including Ganesh Joshi the MLA from Mussoorie, the CM has ensured the representation of Dehradun district in the council of ministers.
Saturday, 13 March 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
