Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat likely to expand cabinet today

Assembly polls in Uttarakhand are scheduled to take place next year, in 2022.

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Dehradun: Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat is likely to expand his cabinet on March 12 in Uttarakhand, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Bansidhar Bhagat said in a statement.

Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn-in as the Uttarakhand chief minister on Wednesday (March 10). Governor Baby Rani Maurya administered the oath of office to him alone at a simple function held at the Raj Bhawan.

Dushyant Gautam, in charge of Uttarakhand, said that the Cabinet expansion will take place soon.

"There would soon be a Cabinet expansion," said Gautam when asked about the expansion of Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat`s Cabinet.

Amid this talk of the impending expansion, Madan Kaushik, State Minister for Urban Development, too had met Gautam on Thursday in the national Capital.

While leaders refused to divulge any further details, senior leaders in the party’s State unit informed that three more ministers can be sworn in during the expansion.

Cabinet expansion would also mean that the party will get a chance to woo any dissidents back. More changes are in offing in-state organisation with its state executive scheduled for March 12 to March 14 in which BL Santhosh will be present on one of the days.

"There have been several leaders in the party who wanted their voices to be heard but because of the troubles with former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, this couldn't be done. It is a time to woo them back and make them feel belonged," a senior party leader stated, according to news agency ANI.

Assembly polls in the state are scheduled to take place in 2022. The BJP had swept the elections in 2017, winning 57 seats in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly. Congress, on the other hand, were able to win just 11 seats. 

(With inputs from ANI)