Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday inducted eight new faces into her Ministry. Of them, two got Cabinet berths while six others were given Minister of State (MoS) ranks.
Four existing MoSs were elevated to Cabinet rank while one was shunted out.
The reshuffle was done keeping in mind the Panchayat polls scheduled in the State in May 2013. The new Ministers include leaders from rural constituencies and Congress rebels who have recently joined the Trinamool Congress.
Axed
Interestingly, two Ministers were stripped of their portfolios and given lesser important ones after Banerjee was reportedly unhappy with their performances.
Rachpal Singh was stripped of his tourism portfolio and he will now head the “less important” planning department. He however, retains his Cabinet Minister status.
Rabindranath Bhattacharya, previously in charge of the agriculture department will now head the less-known statistics and programme implementation department. Malay Ghatak, law and judiciary minister will be in additional charge of the agriculture department.
Similarly, Shyamal Mandal, the Minister of State for Sunderbans affairs has been dropped from the Cabinet. He is replaced by newcomer Monturam Pakhira.
Promotions
Madan Mitra and Aroop Biswas, Banerjee’s loyalists, have been elevated to Cabinet rank. The two were MoSs (independent charge) for Transport and Sports, and Housing & Youth Affairs Department.
Manjul Krishna Thakur has been promoted as a Cabinet Minister in charge of the refugee rehabilitation department. He was previously, the MoS (independent charge) of the department.
Subrata Saha has been elevated from MoS (Fisheries) to a Cabinet rank.
Chandrima Bhattacharya, incumbent Minister of State for Health, was elevated to independent status. The health department is headed by the Chief Minister herself.
Of the two former Congressmen who joined Trinamool recently – Humayun Kabir and Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury – one has been given a cabinet berth while the other got MoS rank.
Chowdhury replaces Rachpal Singh as the Tourism Minister while Kabir will be a MOS in charge of the minority affairs department.
Trinamool Ministers
Rajib Banerjee is the other new Cabinet Minister. He takes charge as Minister of Irrigation Department. Becharam Manna, Banerjee’s key ally during the Singur anti-land acquisition movement against the Tata’s small car project, has been inducted as a MoS in charge of the agriculture department. The department is headed by Rabindranath Bhattacharya, another of Banerjee’s key ally during the Singur movement.
Other Ministers of State include Giasuddin Mollah, Pundarikashya Saha, Swapan Debnath and Monturam Pakhira.