Jaya rewards ex-Vijaykanth MLA with ministership

August 30, 2016 18:11

Businessman-turned politician K Pandiarajan was today sworn in as a Tamil Nadu minister in the first reshuffle of the three-month old Jayalalithaa ministry.

Governor K Rosaiah administered the oath of office and secrecy to Pandiarajan, a second-time MLA, at an official ceremony at the Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

Pandiarajan, who represents suburban Avadi in the assembly, has been allocated school education, sports and youth welfare portfolios.

In her first cabinet reshuffle since assuming office for a successive term on May 23 last after the assembly elections, Jayalalithaa dropped S P Shanmuganathan as milk and dairy development minister yesterday, replacing him with rural industries minister K T Rajenthra Balaji.

She had allocated school education, sports and youth welfare portfolio to Pandiarajan, hitherto held by P Benjamin, who is now minister for rural industries.

Pandiarajan, who owned an HR firm, was one of the seven dissident DMDK MLAs in the previous assembly and had joined the AIADMK ahead of the May 16 assembly elections.

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