PM keeps alive hopes of ministerial aspirants

New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singhtoday kept the hopes alive of many a ministerial aspirants bypromising a "more expansive" exercise after the Budget sessionof Parliament which concludes in May.

"This is a minor reshuffle and after Budget session ofParliament, we will do a more expansive exercise," Singh toldreporters after the first expansion of his ministry.

His remarks came to a query as to what was his messageafter the induction of six ministers in his one-and-a-halfyear old government.

In the exercise today, Singh did not drop any of theministers but changed portfolios of several of them in orderto give a fresh look to his government facing a series ofscams.

There have been ministerial hopefuls from almost everystate and inspite of today''s exercise, three states --Chhattisgarh, Goa and Manipur -- have still no representationin the union council of ministers.