In Rajasthan Cabinet, Ashok Gehlot keeps 9 portfolios, Sachin Pilot 5

In the small hours of Thursday, the power tussle between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot tipped itself in favour of the CM, who assigned nine of the 25 portfolios, including home and finance, to himself.

Pilot gets to keep five departments: public works, rural development, panchayati raj, in addition to science & technology and statistics.

Planning, personnel, excise, information & technology and general administrative department among others are with the Chief Minister.

In the newly inducted council, Shanti Dharilwal and Bulaki Das Kalla emerged as powerful ministers. On expected lines, Dhariwal, Gehlot's trusted lieutenant, gets to steer urban development and housing ministry, the local self-government ministry that oversees the 183 local bodies.

In his last tenure, Gehlot had dropped Dhariwal as home minister after riots broke out in Gopalgarh and kept the ministry with himself.

Kalla has been entrusted with energy, public health and engineering, water distribution, and art and culture department.

Pilot said it was a "balanced" cabinet. "All departments are important. It's a collective leadership. Many have got independent charge, and the experienced and the young have been included in the cabinet. It is a balanced cabinet," said the deputy chief minister said, after taking charge of his office at the Rajasthan secretariat on Thursday morning. He further said the decisions regarding portfolio allocation were taken by Congress president Rahul Gandhi after feedback and suggestions.

Gehlot and Pilot had taken the oath of office on December 17. Thirteen cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state were sworn in on Monday and portfolios were allocated late Wednesday night. Following the distribution of portfolios in the wee hours of Thursday, Chief Minister Gehlot said, "Whenever a cabinet is constituted, it takes two or three days. It took seven days in Uttar Pradesh and nine days in Maharashtra for the selection of chief ministers. The chapter is closed and portfolios have been distributed. Now we have to meet hopes of the people."

Gehlot's predecessor Vasundhara Raje, who led the former BJP dispensation in the state, was also the finance minister in both her stints, while Gulab Chand Kataria (BJP) was the home minister.