PIONEEREDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun The recent New Delhi visit of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his subtle reference to the issue has indicated that the long pending and awaited expansion of the Dhami cabinet is on cards. Hinting at the expansion of his cabinet after his return from New Delhi on Sunday, the CM said that the BJP is a democratic party where decisions are taken through collective discussions. He said that at present the issue is being discussed and a decision is expected soon. The Bharatiya Janata Party State president Mahendra Bhatt also asserted that the cabinet expansion is on the anvil. Five berths in the cabinet of CM Dhami are vacant for a long time, which is also affecting the works of the government. It is expected that apart from expanding his cabinet, the CM might also drop one or two ministers from his team. Three positions in the Dhami cabinet were vacant since March 2022, when he took oath for the second consecutive time. The number of vacant seats in the Dhami cabinet increased to four after the death of Chandan Ram Das in April 2023 and after the resignation of Prem Chand Aggarwal in March this year the number of vacancies increased to five. The names of Rajpur Road MLA Khajan Dass, former BJP State president Madan Kaushik, Devprayag MLA Vinod Kandari, Kedarnath MLA Asha Nautiyal, Bhimtal MLA Ram Singh Kaida, BHEL Ranipur MLA Adesh Chauhan, Kaladhungi MLA Bansidhar Bhagat and Didihat MLA Bishan Singh Chufal are making rounds as possible new faces in the Dhami cabinet. The BJP leadership is expected to strike regional and caste balance and try to include young leaders in the exercise of cabinet reshuffle and expansion. At present there are as many as seven districts of the State which are not represented in the Dhami cabinet. These districts include Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Haridwar, Nainital, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh.
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