PIONEEREDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The second visit of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to New Delhi within a week has fuelled the speculations on impending cabinet expansion and reshuffle in Uttarakhand. The CM left for the national capital on Friday evening where he is scheduled to meet some Union ministers and senior BJP leaders. On August 31, Dhami will take part in Bharat Global Industries Forum (BGIF) at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Interacting with the media persons before departing from Dehradun, the CM said that his visit is pre-scheduled and he will meet some Union ministers there.
However, the CM’s visits to New Delhi coupled with the recent events where many MLAs and leaders were seen meeting senior leaders in New Delhi has made the cabinet aspirants hopeful. The number of MLAs paying a visit to the CM has also increased in recent days. Meanwhile, the department of Estates has served notices to the former cabinet minister Prem Chand Agarwal and family of former cabinet minister late Chandan Ram Dass to vacate the official bungalows in Yamuna Colony. The department has also asked the chairman of the State Institute for Empowering and Transforming Uttarakhand (SETU) to vacate the bungalow. These notices have given further momentum to the belief that CM Dhami will expand his cabinet soon.
Five berths in the cabinet of CM Dhami are vacant for a long duration of time. The vacant berths in cabinet has also increased the workload of CM who is heading more than three dozen departments. It is expected that apart from expanding his cabinet, the CM can also drop one or two ministers from his team which has increased anxiety of the cabinet ministers.
The names of Rajpur Road MLA Khajan Dass, Haridwar MLA Madan Kaushik, Devprayag MLA Vinod Kandari, Dharampur MLA Vinod Chamoli, Kedarnath MLA Asha Nautiyal, Bhimtal MLA Ram Singh Kaida, BHEL-Ranipur MLA Adesh Chauhan, Kaladhungi MLA Bansidhar Bhagat and Didihat MLA Bishen Singh Chufal are making rounds as possible new faces in the Dhami cabinet.
