Raipur, Dec 29 (PTI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday assigned portfolios, keeping Mineral Resources, Excise and General Administration Department with himself while giving home to deputy CM Vijay Sharma and finance ministry to IAS-officer-turned MLA OP Choudhary. The strength of the state cabinet is 12.

Sai will also handle Energy, Public Relations, Commercial Tax (Excise) and Transport departments and all other departments not specifically assigned to any minister, said the gazette notification issued by the General Administration Department.

Vijay Sharma was given key departments of Home and Jail, Panchayat and Rural Development, Technical Education and Employment and Science and Technology.

Another Deputy CM Arun Sao would handle Public Works, Public Health Engineering, Law and Legislative Affairs and Urban Administration departments.

O P Choudhary was assigned, besides Finance, Commercial Tax, Housing and Environment and Planning, Economics and Statistics departments.

Senior party MLA and minister Brijmohan Agrawal was allocated School Education, Higher Education, Tourism and Culture, Parliamentary Affairs and Dharmik Nyas (religious trust) and Dharmsva departments.

Ram Vichar Netam will be the minister for Agriculture Development and Farmer Welfare, Scheduled Tribes Development, Scheduled Castes Development, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Minorities Development departments.

The lone minister from the Scheduled Castes community in the cabinet, Dayaldas Baghel, was assigned Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection. The 69-year-old Baghel is the oldest member in the Sai's cabinet.

The youngest and only woman minister in the cabinet, Laxmi Rajwade (31) has been given the charge of the Women and Child Development and Social Welfare departments.

Kedar Kashyap was given Forest and Climate Change, Water Resources, Skill Development and Cooperative Departments while Lakhanlal Dewangan will handle the Commerce and Industry and Labor departments.

Shyam Bihari Jaiswal was given Public Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education and Twenty Point Implementation departments. Tankram Verma will be the minister for Sports and Youth Welfare and Revenue and Disaster Management departments.

The BJP came back to power in the state by dislodging the Congress in the Assembly polls held in November. PTI TKP KRK