17 of 23 members in Gehlot''s Cabinet first-time ministers
Jaipur, Dec 24: Seventeen of the 23 members of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's expanded council of ministers are first-time ministers, sources in the Congress said Monday.
The 23 ministers, including one from Congress ally Rashtriya Lok Dal, were sworn in at the Raj Bhavan here. Of the total, 13 are cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state.
They were administered the oath of office by Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh and the swearing-in ceremony was attended by Gehlot, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and other Congress leaders.
Sources said those Congress MLAs, who emerged winners in the 2013 Rajasthan assembly elections despite the "Modi-wave", were also given ministerial berths.
They include Ramesh Meena, Govind Dotasara, Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Sukhram Vishnoi, Ashok Chandna and Rajendra Yadav, who are also first-time ministers, the sources said.
Of the 17 first-time ministers, seven are cabinet minister and 10 minister of state, they said.
Some of the prominent names who held ministerial portfolios in the previous Congress government in the state, but were not made ministers this time are C P Joshi, Hemaram Chaudhary, Deependra Singh Shekhawat, Parasram Mordia and Rajendra Pareek, the sources said.
They said Ashok Bairwa, Mahesh Joshi, Jitendra Singh, Mahendra Singh Malviya, Brijendra Singh Ola and Raj Kumar Sharma were also not given chance in the state cabinet of this Congress government.
The names of council of ministers were finalised by state Congress leaders, including Gehlot and Pilot, after rounds of discussion with party president Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders, the sources said.
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KKR defeat LSG via Super Over
Lucknow (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders edged Lucknow Super Giants via Super Overs in a battle between two bottom-placed teams in the IPL, here on Sunday.
Chasing a modest 156, LSG suffered a batting collapse and managed to tie the contest and take it to Super Over with No. 9 Mohammed Shami striking a last-ball six against a wayward Kartik Tyagi, who leaked 16 runs in the final over.
But Sunil Narine bowled a stunning Super Over conceding just one run and taking two wickets to give KKR an easy target.
Rinku Singh then finished the chase with a boundary off first ball from Prince Yadav.
Earlier the KKR were in deep trouble with 93/7 in 15 overs but Rinku smashed a sensational 83 not out from 51 balls including four sixes in a row in the final over to lift them to 155/7.
Cameron Green (34) was the only other batter to reach double-digit scores as KKR suffered a familiar batting meltdown with Mohsin taking his maiden fifer.
In reply, LSG continued their dismal show with the bat to succumb to their fifth loss in a row.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 155/7; 20 overs (Rinku Singh 83 not out, Cameron Green 34; Mohsin Khan 5/23). Lucknow Super Giants 155/8; 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 42). KKR won via Super Over.
