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| All eyes focused on cabinet expansion | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 15: After a clean sweep in Rajya Sabha elections, the Omar Abdullah Ministry is now geared up for an expansion but the leadership of Congress and National Conference was in a fix on the timing.
Elections to the vacant seats of Legislative Council are due on March 7 and the coalition leadership is weighing options of going for expansion before or after elections. In any case the Ministry is up for expansion before notification is issued for the Lok Sabha elections.
There are over two dozen aspirants but neither Chief Minister Omar Abdullah nor the Congress leadership is interested in full expansion in single go. Sources said that six to eight faces may be inducted in the forthcoming expansion and more members may get cabinet berth after the Lok Sabha elections.
The recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections have given the ruling coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir much to cheer about, but now the entire focus of the government has shifted on the cabinet expansion that is expected anytime now. Sources said that the both coalition partners have zeroed in on various names which include two ex-ministers who were allies of the Congress during the assembly elections.
Interestingly, some of the names who have been able to make it to the final list may generate some amount of heat as many voices have already been raised for their inclusion in the council of Ministers.
The cabinet expansion has been over due for now as the present government took the charge with just 8 members joining the council of Ministers besides, Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister taking control.
16 vacancies are still vacant in the coalition Government as State's maximum strength of Ministers has been confined to 25 as per a legislation. Out of 10 Ministers who form the Council of Ministers six belong to Kashmir (four from NC and two from Congress), three from Jammu (two from Congress and one from NC) and one from Ladakh (Congress).
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