Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat may expand cabinet today

Dehradun, May 12: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat is expected to expand his cabinet on March 12, state BJP chief Bansidhar Bhagat said on Thursday.

He, however, said there is no official word on this so far.

The Uttarakhand cabinet can have 12 ministers but two berths have remained vacant since the BJP government came to power in 2017. Another fell vacant after the demise of Finance Minister Prakash Pant in June 2019.

These berths have remained vacant despite repeated discussions and party MLAs have been upset about it. This was also one of the reasons for the ouster of former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, according to party sources.

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