Ranchi, Feb 5: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren expanded his cabinet on Friday, inducting one minister.
Governor Draupdi Murmu administered the oath to Hafizal Hasan Ansari, son of former Minister Haji Hussain Ansari who died of coronavirus last year.
Ansari, who is not a legislator, is slated to enter the state Assembly from Madhupur seat which was held by his father.
This is the second cabinet expansion of Hemant Soren government, which now has 11 ministers including the Chief Minister, and can have one more Minister.
He will be the 11th minister in the Hemant Soren cabinet and overall sixth from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha quota. As per the constitutional provisions, in the 81 member Jharkhand assembly the cabinet can have a maximum of 12 ministers, including the Chief Minister.
Hafizul Hasan is currently not a member of the Assembly and will be contesting the bypolls for Madhupur seat, dates for which will be announced shortly. The seat fell vacant after the demise of his father Haji Hussain Ansari who had passed away on October 3, 2020. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, JMM supremo and Rajya Sabha MP Shibu Soren and other cabinet ministers were present at the oath taking ceremony.
Ansari is the second person to become a Jharkhand minister without being an MLA after Hemendra Pratap Dehati in 2006. Dehati had, however, subsequently quit to clear the way for his legislator son Bhanu Pratap Shahi, following the latter’s release from jail.
