Seven more ministers including Vikramaditya Singh took office in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla: Seven more ministers took oath in Himachal Pradesh. Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh also found a place in the cabinet.
With this, the number of ministers including the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister has increased to nine. A maximum of 12 ministers can be in the state.

Eighty-two-year-old Dhani Ram Shandil, Chanderkumar, Harshvardhan Chauhan, Jagat Singh Negi, Rohit Thakur, Anirudh Singh, and Vikramaditya Singh are the new ministers. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath to the new ministers in a simple ceremony at Raj Bhavan yesterday. Three of the new ministers are from the Shimla district. Dhani Ram Shandil, who is also a former minister, is also a former member of the Lok Sabha. He has also worked as AICC Secretary. Shandil, who belongs to Scheduled Caste, is a member of the Congress Working Committee. Anirudh Singh and Harshvardhan Chauhan are close supporters of Chief Minister Sukhu. Former Deputy Speaker Jagat Singh Negi has been MLA five times. Rohit Thakur is the grandson of former Chief Minister Thakur Ram Lal.

Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukh and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri were sworn in on December 11. The Rajputs are dominant in the cabinet. Five people, including the Chief Minister, belong to the Rajput community. Each member from the Brahmin, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and OBC categories became a minister.

The Chief Minister appointed six MLAs as Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) before the formation of the Cabinet. Sundar Singh Thakur, Mohanlal Bragta, Ramkumar Chaudhary, Ashish Butail, Kishorilal, and Sanjay Awasthi have been conferred CPS status. This decision is to satisfy the ministerial aspirants. The BJP came forward against the appointment of six people as Chief Parliamentary Secretaries. Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur accused Shimla of giving more importance to the ministry and neglecting other areas.