The newly sworn-in Ministry, comprising five Ministers, including the Chief Minister, from Bharatiya Janata Party ranks and five from the rebel Congress camp, seems to indicate that the party top brass has sought to play a delicate balancing act to keep all in good humour in a bid to lend stability to the newly formed State Government. Besides, the caste and regional equations have been factored in while constituting the new Ministry, say the observers.
Those from the rebel Congress camp who fought the election on saffron tickets and were sworn in as Ministers are Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat, Yashpal Arya, Subodh Uniyal and Rekha Arya. The four from the BJP ranks aside from the CM who were inducted in the Ministry are Prakash Pant, Madan Kaushik, Arvind Pandey and Dr Dhan Singh Rawat.
As per the constitutional norms, 15 per cent of the total number of MlAs can be inducted into the Ministry. This means that in case of Uttarakhand, 11 persons, excluding the CM, can at the most be inducted. With nine, including two Ministers of State, having been inducted, two more can be accommodated in the coming days.
Two MlAs — Choubattakhal MlA Satpal Maharaj and Dr Dhan Singh Rawat — who have been inducted as a Cabinet Minister and a Minister of State respectively, are the first-time MlAs.
Two MlAs who have been elected from reserved seats- Bazpur MlA Yashpal Arya and Someshwar MlA Rekha Arya- have been inducted as a Cabinet Minister and a Minister of State respectively. Both hailing from Kumaon, the MlAs from Garhwal elected from the SC seats are waiting to see their ways into the ministry.
Brahmins from both the divisions have been accommodated too. There are at present four Brahmins two each from Garhwal and Kumaon divisions. They are Madan Kaushik and Subodh Uniyal from Garhwal and Prakash Pant and Arvind Pandey from Kumaon.
The powerful Thakur community has been aptly accommodated too. The Chief Minister himself being a Thakur, three others who have been inducted are Choubattakhal MlA Satpal Maharaj, Kotdwar MlA Harak Singh Rawat and Srinagar MlA Dr Dhan Singh Rawat. Interestingly, all the three Thakurs are from Pauri district. Besides, the Chief Minister Trivendra originally hails from Pauri as well, though he was elected from a seat in Dehradun district.
As things stand now, six districts, three each from Garhwal and Kumaon, have found representation in the Ministry. Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat and Dhan Singh Rawat are from Pauri district and Subodh Uniyal is from Tehri district while the CM is from Dehradun district-all from Garhwal. Those representing the three districts of Kumaon are Pithoragarh MlA Prakash Pant, Arvind Pandey and Yashpal Arya from Udham Singh Nagar and Rekha Arya from Almora district-all parts of the Kumaon division.