Rajasthan Cabinet gets Sikh face from Sriganganagar district

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Abohar, December 30

Surinder Pal Singh TT, who is contesting election from the Srikaranpur Assembly constituency in Sriganganagar district, was sworn in as Minister of State (Independent Charge) in Rajasthan today. As many as 12 Cabinet Ministers and 10 Ministers of State were inducted in the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led BJP government in Rajasthan on Saturday.

Singh got a call from Jaipur early this morning and left his election campaign to attend the swearing-in ceremony held in Jaipur. The voting for Srikaranpur seat is to be held on January 5 and counting of votes is to take place on January 8.

The Election Commission had to postponed the election last month after Congress candidate from Srikaranpur seat Gurmeet Singh Kooner died during the campaign. He breathed his last on November 19 during treatment at AIIMS Hospital in New Delhi.

On December 3, a day after the Assembly poll was declared, a new schedule for the elections of Srikaranpur seat was announced. Political analysts say even though Sing is yet to win the elections, his position was always strong, and that is why the saffron included him in the Cabinet.

Singh served as Chairman of Rajasthan Warehousing with Cabinet rank in 1994. He served as Minister of Agriculture (2003-2008) and Minister of Mines and Petroleum (2013-2018). He lost his seat in the 2018 to Kooner of the Congress by a margin of 28,376 votes.

The results of the Rajasthan Assembly elections were announced on December 3, with the BJP securing 115 out of the 199 contested seats.