NEW DELHI, NOV 22: Four ministers - three with Cabinet rank and one minister of state - were inducted into the two-month-old Vajpayee Government taking the strength of the National Democratic Alliance ministry to 74 in the latest expansion and reshuffle on Monday.BJP Uttar Pradesh unit chief Rajnath Singh, member of Lok Sabha from Patna Prof C P Thakur and Akali Dal Rajya Sabha M P Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa are the Cabinet ministers who were administered oath of office and secrecy by President K R Narayanan in a brief swearing in ceremony here this evening.Noted journalist and BJP ideologue, Arun Shourie who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha was also sworn in with a batch of departments which includes planning, statistics and programme implementation, administrative reforms and public grievances in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions while Parliamentary Affairs minister Pramod Mahajan has been given additional charge of all important newly created department of information technology.By deciding to rope in Prof Thakur, the BJP has given representation to the dominant Bhumihar community from Bihar keeping in mind the Assembly elections from that State in the next two months. He has been allotted the portfolio of water resources, earlier held by Pramod Mahajan.Rajnath Singh who had raised a banner of revolt against continuance of Kalyan Singh as chief minister has shifted to Delhi to set the BJP house in order in Uttar Pradesh. He was given the ministry of surface transport while Nitish Kumar, who held this portfolio, takes over as the Minister for Agriculture.Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa declined to take up the minister of state rank last time when the government was formed in September and consequently Akali Dal went without representation in the council of ministers. He has been allocated the newly created works and estates ministry.With this expansion, Bihar tops the number of ministers in the Union ministry. The Cabinet ministers from the State are George Fernandes, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sharad Yadav, Yashwant Sinha. Ministers of state are Babu Lal Marandi, Muni Lal, Digvijay Singh and Rita Verma.
