Haryana Cabinet expansion likely on Thursday
The first expansion of Manohar Lal Khattar-led two-member cabinet in Haryana is likely on Thursday, sources said. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Khattar took oath as Chief Minister along with his alliance partner Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala, the great grandson of former deputy prime minister late Devi Lal, as his deputy on October 27.
Sources said the names for the Council of Ministers, comprising the BJP, JJP and the Independents, were cleared by the BJP high command on Sunday.
Among the front runners from the BJP for the ministerial berths are six-time legislator Anil Vij, former Speaker Kanwar Pal, Seema Trikha, Mahipal Dhanda, Deepak Mangla and Ganshyam Saraf.
From the JJP, the prospective names for the cabinet are Ram Kumar Gautama and Ishwar Singh. Independents Ranjit Chautala, son of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, and Balraj Kundu may also join the cabinet.
The Cabinet can have a maximum of 14 ministers, including the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister.
While three ministerial berths were set to go to the JJP, the BJP would have nine or 10 members in the cabinet. A berth or two could go to the seven Independents supporting the government.
The BJP won 40 seats and was six short of a majority in the 90-member Assembly.
Besides the 10 JJP legislators, seven independent MLAs have also extended support to the BJP, helping it reach a tally of 57 seats.
The Congress won 31 seats, improving its tally from 19 in 2014.
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