Chandigarh, Aug 18— In a Cabinet reshuffle, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has handed the crucial Power department to Sanjeev Arora, leaving Harbhajan Singh ETO with only the Public Works Department (PWD).
A notification on the reallocation of portfolios was issued late Monday evening by the state government after approval from the Punjab Governor. The move formalises changes that had been speculated for weeks within political circles.
Arora, who was inducted into the Mann Cabinet last month, already holds key portfolios including Industry and Commerce, Investment Promotion, and NRI Affairs. With Power now under his charge, the Ludhiana West MLA has been further strengthened politically.
ETO, on the other hand, will now oversee only the PWD. The redistribution is seen as part of the CM’s broader exercise to balance responsibilities among his ministers.
For several months, there had been murmurs of impending changes in ministerial portfolios. The speculation grew stronger in July when Arora, who vacated his Rajya Sabha seat to contest and win the Ludhiana West bypoll, was sworn in as a Cabinet minister. At that time, expectations of a reshuffle were high, but apart from Arora’s induction and the exit of Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, no other significant changes were made.
With Monday’s notification, Mann has now expanded Arora’s responsibilities while reducing ETO’s charge to a single department, underlining a strategic redistribution of portfolios within his Cabinet.
