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Follow UsDehradun, Aug 25 (PTI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami may soon expand his cabinet, sources close to him said on Monday.
The chief minister himself has fuelled such speculation by saying that the issue is under discussion and the final decision will be taken by the party high command, they said.
As soon as these speculations intensified in political circles and the media, the ruling MLAs have started staking their claim by meeting Dhami.
In this regard, some other MLAs including Dehradun's Rajpur Road MLA Khajan Das met CM Dhami on Sunday, according to the sources.
After the resignation of Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal following a controversy in March, the number of vacant posts in the Dhami cabinet has increased to five.
Since Aggarwal left the post, there has been speculation in the media about cabinet expansion, the sources said, adding that Dhami may fill the vacant posts in his cabinet soon.
When the BJP came to power for the second consecutive time in 2022, a total of nine ministers, including Chief Minister Dhami, were sworn in.
Under the constitutional provision, the Uttarakhand cabinet can have a maximum of 12 members.
After the death of Social Welfare and Transport Minister Chandan Ramdas in April 2023, the cabinet was left with eight members and after Aggarwal's resignation, the number came down to seven.
A senior BJP leader said, "The assembly elections to be held in 2027 are also not far away. This is the right time for Dhami to expand and reshuffle his cabinet." During several interactions with the media, BJP state unit president Mahendra Bhatt admitted that the right time has come to expand the state cabinet.
Bhatt said that he has discussed the matter with the CM and he agrees that this is the right time for cabinet expansion in the state.
According to the sources, before the cabinet expansion, the CM may once again go to Delhi to seek the opinion of the party high command. PTI DPT NB