Cabinet Expansion

The Assembly session is scheduled to be held from January 4 to January 6 in Dharamshala, after being postponed last month

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday indicated that the expansion of his Cabinet is likely after Gujarat Assembly polls. Gujarat will go to polls in two phases on December 1 and 5, with the counting of votes on December 8. "Cabinet expansion...I have already spoken.....our leadership is a bit busy with the Gujarat elections, as soon as it is over they will call me (for discussions)," Bommai said in response to a question. The Chief Minister had recently said that he will soon be travelling to New Delhi to meet BJP central leadership to discuss the exercise. Bommai has been under intense pressure for some time now, over expansion and rejig of Cabinet not taking place, to make way for the fresh faces, ahead of Assembly elections next year. There were some reports of possible cabinet expansion by filling in six vacant posts or a kind of a rejig by dropping a few and inducting an equal number of new faces. There were also talks in some quarters that a Gujarat-like com

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the state cabinet would be expanded soon. Talking to reporters at his official residence here, he also said that most of the new members will be Ministers of State. ''The expansion would be carried out soon," he said. The state Council of Ministers at present has 18 cabinet ministers including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. There are nine ministers each from the Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena and his ally Bharatiya Janata Party. The present government took over on June 30 this year after the Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition government of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress collapsed following Shinde's rebellion. While on June 30 only Shinde and Fadnavis took oath, the first cabinet expansion took place on August 9. The Council of Ministers can have up to 43 members in Maharashtra. Asked when the long-awaited elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation would take place, Fadnavis said it was for the courts

Government has 23 vacant ministerial berths to fill, even as it prepares for municipal elections, and battles a shift in Shiv Sainiks' sympathies

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets its dairy products under the Amul brand, on Tuesday increased prices of its Gold, Taaza and Shakti milk brands by Rs 2 per litre.

The newly formed cabinet in Bihar expanded when 31 ministers took oath, with the RJD getting a lion's share

The state cabinet can have up to 36 ministers, including the chief minister. The induction of ministers on Tuesday is expected to keep a few berths vacant for future expansion.

Several tainted ministers were inducted in the state govt. Many have not liked this decision. Even some persons in the Shinde-Fadnavis govt have not liked the decision to induct these persons, he said

Fadnavis said in Mumbai, There will be women in next cabinet expansion for sure. Earlier, people were critical of us for delay in the cabinet expansion, but now they have come up with something new

A dozen ministers will take oath at Tuesday's ceremony, scheduled at Raj Bhavan at 12 pm, a close aide of Shinde told PTI.

Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, which came to power after high political drama, is completing one month in office but there is still no clarity on when the cabinet expansion will take place

"Different classes of people in Maharashtra are facing varied problems, and to resolve them, a 100-day program will be undertaken," the chief minister said.

Sri Lanka's newly-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe is likely to expand his Cabinet to accommodate all opposition parties in the government, according to a senior minister

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka has finally decided to take up the long-pending task of Cabinet expansion. According to party sources, the high command has taken a call on the issue

The much-awaited expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde may take place after the July 18 presidential polls, the Shinde-led camp of Shiv Sena MLAs has indicated

Shinde also dismissed his predecessor Uddhav's call for mid-term polls in Maharashtra and asserted that his government is strong and stable with the support of 164 MLAs, while opposition has only 99.

The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is going to expand its cabinet for the first time today

There has been no discussion yet on cabinet berths or distribution of portfolios to rebel MLAs, Kesakar claimed.

Hopes of cabinet aspirants in Karnataka soared high after Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital on Wednesday.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah will communicate to him on BJP central leadership's decision about expansion or reshuffle of the state cabinet