Chandigarh: Punjab govt has reassigned the portfolios previously held by sacked minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, with chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday—three days after the former’s resignation—allocating transport department to finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and jails department to Ravjot Singh.This reallocation follows an initial notification on Monday, which stated that the governor formally accepted Bhullar’s resignation and chief minister would temporarily oversee these departments. The latest decision to distribute responsibilities among existing cabinet members effectively rules out speculation of the induction of new faces into the cabinet for now. The portfolio reallocations were finalised just before CM Mann departed for a four-day visit to Gujarat with AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal. During the tour, the leaders are set to address several ‘Vijay Vishwas Sabhas’ (confidence in victory rallies) and engage with local leaders to strategise for the upcoming municipal and panchayat elections in the state. “By opting to absorb Bhullar’s portfolios into the existing cabinet rather than expanding it, AAP govt appears focused on administrative stability and damage control amid intense scrutiny from opposition,” said an opposition leader.The allocation of jails portfolio to Ravjot Singh is seen as a move to compensate him after a recent cabinet rejig on Jan 8. At the time, Ravjot was divested of the high-profile local govt department, which was reassigned to industries minister Sanjeev Arora. Following that change, Ravjot was left with parliamentary affairs and given NRI affairs, a portfolio previously held by Sanjeev Arora. With this change, Cheema further consolidates his position in the state cabinet. He is already handling finance, planning, and excise & taxation portfolios, having recently presented the state’s 2026-27 budget. The addition of the transport department places another revenue-generating sector under his supervision. Earlier, Sanjeev Arora was inducted in July 2025 following his victory in the Ludhiana West byelection. He was immediately entrusted with industries and commerce, investment promotion, and NRI affairs, portfolios previously managed by Tarunpreet Singh Sondh and Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal. Shortly after, in Aug 2025, Sanjeev Arora’s influence grew when he was handed the power department, which was taken from Harbhajan Singh ETO. Mann had gone in for a cabinet reshuffle in Sept 2024, which saw the induction of five ministers—Hardeep Singh Mundian, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Tarunpreet Singh Sondh, Ravjot Singh, and Mohinder Bhagat—while four others were dropped. In Jan 2023, Patiala Rural MLA Balbir Singh was brought in as health minister following the resignation by Fauja Singh Sarari, who had resigned after an audio clip surfaced allegedly discussing a plan to “trap” contractors to extort money. Bhullar’s exit was triggered by a controversy involving the suicide of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, a district manager with the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation. Before his death on Saturday, Randhawa released a video alleging that he was being harassed and pressured by the minister regarding the awarding of storage tenders. The subsequent naming of Bhullar in an FIR for abetment of suicide led to his arrest on Monday.
