Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Friday distributed portfolios among the new ministers, keeping key departments such as Home, Personnel and several others to himself, according to a government notification.
Radhakrishna Kishore, a Congress MLA, got Finance, Commercial Tax, Planning and Development Department, and Parliamentary Affairs departments.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Deepak Biruwa was allotted the departments of Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms (non-registration), and Transport, the notification said.
Chamra Linda, another JMM leader, was allotted the departments of Schedule Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes (except Minority Welfare).
RJD’s Sanjay Prasad Yadav was given the departments of Industries, and Labour, Planning, Training and Skill Development.
Irfan Ansari of the Congress got Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, besides Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, and Disaster Management departments, the notification said.
The chief minister also kept to himself the departments of Cabinet Secretariat, Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language, Road Construction, Building Construction, and those departments yet to be distributed to anyone.
Among the other ministers, JMM’s Ramdas Soren was given the School Education and Literacy, and Registration departments.
Party colleague Hafizul Hasan was allotted the departments of Water Resources, and Minority Welfare Department.
Panchayati Raj, Rural Works, and Rural Development departments were given to Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh.
The CM gave Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Excise and Prohibition departments to JMM’s Yogendra Prasad, according to the notification.
JMM legislator Sudhivya Kumar became the minister for Urban Development and Housing, Higher and Technical Education, and Tourism, Art Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs departments.
Shilpi Neha Tirkey of the Congress was allotted Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department.
A total of 11 MLAs – six of the JMM, four belonging to the Congress and one of RJD – took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Thursday.
Soren, the JMM executive president, himself was sworn in as the CM on November 28.
The JMM-led coalition last month stormed to power for the second time in a row in Jharkhand, steamrolling the BJP-headed NDA, by winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly.
PTI