DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand state cabinet will get three more ministers this month. At present, the cabinet has total nine ministers including the chief minister of the state, said sources from Bhartiya Janta Party and the state government.
The move comes after the CM met the national president of Bharatiya Janta Party and union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi in his recent visit.
Out of total 12 cabinet berths, three still remain vacant. "The decision will be made soon on cabinet expansion. But the names of the ministers are yet to be finalized, " said a minister from the state cabinet.
Speculation is rife about the names being finalized and lobbying has started to grab a cabinet berth by different factions of the leaders in the party.
The party insiders claim of MLAs who have held the position in the past such as Harbans Kapoor, Bishan Singh Chufal are strong contenders.
Another strong contender and six time MLA from Kaladhungi state assembly seat, Bansidhar Bhagat was appointed BJP state president last month.
Other names which are being discussed include Khajan Das, Balwant Singh Bhauryal, Munna Singh Chauhan, Surendra Singh Jeena, Harbhajan Singh Cheema, Pushkar Singh Dhami and Mahendra Bhatt.
Ten-member cabinet was took oath including the CM himself in year 2017 when the BJP swept to power in the state.
Two berths were left vacant in the cabinet while another was created due to demise of the then Parliamentary affairs minister Prakash Pant due to cancer in June 2019. Death of Pant was followed by speculations of expansions but nothing of the sorts took place.