Calcutta, April 2: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee would have a junior minister to look after the information and cultural affairs department he heads as he is “overburdened with administrative work”, sources at Writers’ Buildings said.

Soumendranath Bera, the CPM MLA from Pursura in Hooghly and professor of journalism in Calcutta University, will be sworn in on Tuesday along with the RSP’s Dasarath Tirkey, who would be the junior minister for PWD, the sources added.

The earlier minister of state for PWD, the RSP’s Manohar Tirkey, has become an MP.

After power and labour minister Mrinal Banerjee died earlier this year, junior labour minister Anadi Sahoo was elevated to cabinet rank and industries minister Nirupam Sen was given additional charge of power. So Bera’s induction will again prop up the number of CPM ministers in the cabinet.

A CPM state secretariat member said: “Buddhada without the information and cultural affairs department is unthinkable. But the problem is that he is too overburdened with administrative work. Moreover, he has to look after critical issues like the Maoist menace, political clashes and the unrest in the hills. Bera will assist Buddhada.”