The Uttarakhand government led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is set to expand his cabinet on Friday. The long-anticipated expansion of Dhami’s cabinet is slated to take place today, with officials indicating that the swearing-in ceremony is scheduled at Lok Bhawan at 10 am.
The event, however, had not commenced at the time this report was filed.
The expansion comes amid five vacant positions in the council of ministers. When the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power for a second consecutive term in 2022, nine ministers, including the chief minister, were sworn in.
The number of ministers declined over time due to a death and a resignation.
Following the demise of Social Welfare and Transport Minister Chandan Ram Das in April 2023, the cabinet strength reduced to eight. It further dropped to seven after Parliamentary Affairs and Finance Minister Prem Chand Agarwal stepped down last year amid a controversy.
As per constitutional provisions, the Uttarakhand cabinet can have a maximum strength of 12 members.
In recent years, discussions around a cabinet expansion had surfaced multiple times in the state, but no concrete action followed.
The legislators expected to take oath are Ram Singh Keda, Pradeep Batra, Bharat Chaudhary, Madan Kaushik, and Khajan Das.
