The much awaited expansion of the State cabinet likely to occur soon PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun With the long awaited expansion of Pushkar Singh Dhami cabinet expected to occur anytime during the ongoing festival of Navratri, many MLAs of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are expecting the call for the elusive cabinet berth. In recent times, both chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and president of Uttarakhand BJP Mahendra Bhatt have given clear hints of a cabinet expansion. On Thursday, Bhatt told media persons in New Delhi that a request to the central leadership of the party has been made to give its approval for cabinet expansion in Uttarakhand. Pertinently, three positions in the Dhami cabinet were vacant since Dhami took over the reins of the State in March 2022 for the second consecutive time. The vacancy in the cabinet increased to four after the death of Chandan Ram Das in April 2023. After the resignation of Prem Chand Aggarwal in March, last year over alleged use of foul language by him against the people of mountainous parts of the State, the number of vacancies in the cabinet increased to five. At present there are as many as seven districts of the State which are not represented in the Dhami cabinet. These districts are Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Haridwar, Nainital, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh. It is likely that the representation to these districts will be given in the cabinet expansion. The names of Vikasnagar MLA Munna Singh Chauhan, former state President Madan Kaushik, Devprayag MLA Vinod Kandari, Kedarnath MLA Asha Nautiyal, Purola MLA Durgeshwar Lal, Bhimtal MLA Ram Singh Kaida, BHEL Ranipur MLA Adesh Chauhan, Bageshwar MLA Suresh Gadia , Kaladhungi MLA Bansidhar Bhagat and Didihat MLA Bishan Singh Chufal are making rounds as possible new faces in the Dhami cabinet. In view of the Vidhan Sabha elections scheduled in early part of 2027, it is expected that CM Dhami will try to strike regional and caste balance to fill the vacant cabinet berths. He is also likely to accommodate senior and young leaders in his cabinet.
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