Team Saini: Balancing experience, fresh faces in Cabinet
In a strategic move reflecting lessons learnt from previous terms, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has retained control of crucial departments, including Home, Finance, Town and Country Planning, CID, and Excise and Taxation. The allocation of portfolios was finalised just two days after the Council of Ministers was sworn in, a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Saini’s decision aims to bring freshness to departmental management by assigning seasoned ministers to departments needing reform while allowing first-time ministers to handle various portfolios. A BJP leader said, “The idea was to bring freshness to the working of these departments...senior ministers will get a chance to handle newer departments and infuse a certain newness to their working.”
Among the senior ministers, seven-time MLA Anil Vij retains significant portfolios, including Energy, Transport, and Labour, having previously held Home, Health, Urban Local Bodies, and Sports. Responding to his portfolio allocation, Vij said, “I have to work for the people who vote for me. I will be happy even if I become ‘Minister without a portfolio’. I will still be able to make a difference.”
Other key ministers include Krishan Lal Panwar, who oversees Development and Panchayat, Mines and Geology; Mahipal Dhanda, handling School and Higher Education, as well as Parliamentary Affairs; and Arvind Sharma, responsible for Cooperation, Jails, Elections, and Heritage & Tourism. Shyam Singh Rana has a significant allocation, managing Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, and Fisheries.
Rao Narbir, representing Badshahpur in Gurgaon, has been assigned the Industries portfolio, along with Environment, Forests and Wildlife, and Foreign Cooperation, given the area’s industrial concentration. Former Industries Minister Vipul Goel now oversees Revenue & Disaster Management, Urban Local Bodies, and Civil Aviation.
Newcomers in the Cabinet, including Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa, who has taken on Public Health Engineering and Public Works (Building & Roads), and women ministers Shruti Choudhry and Arti Singh Rao, have also been allocated significant responsibilities. Choudhry manages Women and Child Development and Irrigation & Water Resources, while Rao is the new Health Minister with additional responsibilities in Medical Education & Research and Ayush.
Krishan Bedi, a former adviser to the Chief Minister, has been given the portfolios of Social Justice, Empowerment, SCs & BCs Welfare, and Hospitality and Architecture. Minister of State Rajesh Nagar, from the OBC community, will oversee Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, while Gaurav Gautam, another MoS, will handle Youth Empowerment & Entrepreneurship and Sports.
