Chandigarh: Sanjeev Arora, 61, the newly elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from Punjab’s Ludhiana West seat was allocated on Thursday the portfolio of department of industries and department of NRI affairs in the chief minister Bhagwant Mann's Cabinet.
Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who held the NRI affairs portfolio, submitted his resignation while Tarunpreet Singh Sond, who held the industries department, will continue to have charge of rural development, labour and tourism departments.
Chief minister Mann’s cabinet now has a total of 16 ministers and there are two berths which are still vacant.
This was the seventh expansion of Mann’s Cabinet during the past over three year rule of the AAP government.
Earlier, Arora was administered the oath office and secrecy by Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria at Punjab Raj Bhawan.
The ceremony was attended by, among many ministers and dignitaries, chief minister Mann and his wife Gurpreet Kaur Mann.
Arora, who was an AAP Rajya Sabha member, had won in Ludhiana West bypoll in June this year, after it fell vacant due to the death of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi who died after his firearm went off accidently at his home.
