Ludhiana West MLA Sanjeev Arora sworn-in as Punjab Cabinet minister, Dhaliwal resigns

Chandigarh: Newly elected Ludhiana West MLA Sanjeev Arora was inducted as a Cabinet minister on Thursday after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann effected the seventh Cabinet reshuffle in the past three years.

Arora's induction followed Dhaliwal's resignation from the Punjab Cabinet, according to party sources. Dhaliwal's lone portfolio, NRI Affairs, was given to the newly elected MLA.

Arora was also given the portfolio of Industry and Commerce and Investment Promotion, which were earlier held by Tarunpreet Singh Sond, who is now left with Tourism & Culture Affairs, Labour, Hospitality, and Rural Development & Panchayats departments.

With the induction of Arora and resignation of Dhaliwal, the strength of the Mann Cabinet remained unchanged at 16. The Punjab Cabinet can have 18 ministers, including the chief minister.

After the news of his resignation emerged on social media, Dhaliwal, who is an MLA from Ajnala constituency, in a post on X wrote, "My hard work continues for the welfare of the people of Punjab."

Meanwhile, CM Mann extended best wishes to Arora upon becoming the minister.

"Sanjeev Arora ji has been given the responsibility of Industry & Commerce, Investment Promotion, NRI Affairs departments. I hope that Sanjeev Arora ji will live up to the expectations of the people of Punjab. He will work with full honesty and without any discrimination for the development of Punjab and the welfare of 3 crore people of the state," Mann said in a post on X.

Earlier, Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria administered an oath of office and secrecy to Arora in a swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan here.

CM Bhagwant Mann, several cabinet ministers and other party leaders were present on this occasion.

Arora was elected as an MLA in the June 19 Ludhiana West assembly bypoll after defeating Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu by a margin of 10,637 votes. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had, during the bypoll campaign, said that Arora would be made a minister if he was elected a legislator.

The AAP government carried out its last cabinet reshuffle in September last year when it inducted five new ministers after dropping four.

Arora (61) is a Ludhiana-based industrialist and is also known for his social welfare work. He runs the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust.

Arora, a businessman-turned-politician, became a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab in 2022. On Tuesday, he submitted his resignation from the Upper House to Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, who accepted it.