After rounds of intense deliberations in the last two-three days, the Congress has finalised cabinet formation in Rajasthan and portfolio allocation to ministers who will be sworn in on Monday at Raj Bhawan, said a senior leader familiar with the matter.

After approval from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, about 23 ministers are expected to be sworn in, the leader said on anonymity. The cabinet will have a mix of experience and youth, but chances of including first-time MLAs in the cabinet are less, he said.

“It will not be a full-fledged cabinet; another expansion will be done later, probably after the Lok Sabha elections,” the leader said. “The Congress leadership has ensured representation to region, caste, experience and young blood.”

Party sources claimed that over a dozen ministers, mostly experienced leaders, would be given cabinet rank and the rest minister of state status or with independent charge.

MLAs likely to be part of the state cabinet are BD Kalla (Bikaner-West), Raghu Sharma (Kekri), Shanti Dhariwal (Kota-North), Lalchand Kataria (Jhotwara), Pramod Jain (Anta), Parsadi Lal Meena (Lalsot), Vishvendra Singh (Deeg-Kumher), Harish Choudhary (Baytoo), Ramesh Meena (Sapotra), Master Bhanwarlal Meghwal (Sujangarh), Pratap Singh Khachariyawas (Civil Lines), Udai Lal Anjana (Nimbahera), Saleh Mohammad (Pokaran), Govind Singh Dotasara (Lachhmangarh), Mamta Bhupesh (Sikrai), Arjun Bamania (Banswara), Bhanwar Singh Bhati (Kolayat), Sukhram Bishnoi (Sanchore), Ashok Chandana (Hindoli), Tika Ram Jully (Alwar-rural), Bhajan Lal Jatav (Weir), Rajendra Singh (Kotputli) and Subhash Garg from Bharatpur (Rashtriya Lok Dal).

Kalla, Dhariwal, Parsadi lal Meena, Pramod Jain and Bhawarlal Meghwal are former ministers. Lalchand Kataria, a former MP from Jaipur-rural, was a union minister of state.

Rajasthan Youth Congress president Ashok Chandna also figures in the list of likely ministers, sources said. Chandna has been elected to the assembly for the second time.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot and deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot returned to Jaipur on Sunday after holding rounds of discussions for two-three days with AICC general secretary Avinash Pande and party observer for Rajasthan KC Venugopal over cabinet formation and portfolio allocation before meeting Gandhi for his approval.

On Saturday afternoon, Gandhi met all the four AICC secretaries appointed for the state and took feedback on the names submitted as ministers. He then held discussions with Gehlot, Pilot, Pande and Venugopal. The party president again met the leaders late evening and approved the list of ministers for the state, the senior leader said.

The Congress won 99 seats in the state assembly earlier this week, bouncing back from the drubbing in the 2013 elections when the party won just 21 seats.

First Published: Dec 24, 2018 07:22 IST