Haryana: Nayab Saini govt to carry out its first cabinet expansion on Tuesday

Chandigarh: The Nayab Singh Saini government in Haryana will carry out its first cabinet expansion on Tuesday with sources saying that six to seven MLAs were likely to be inducted.

Saini and five ministers were inducted into the cabinet last week.

When asked about the cabinet expansion, former minister Anil Vij, who last week skipped Saini's swearing-in ceremony, said, "I have no information." He, however, reiterated that he was not upset.

In the morning, Chief Minister Saini, while interacting with reporters after paying obeisance at Nada Sahib Gurdwara in Panchkula, said that Vij is "our respected leader and we have been regularly getting guidance from him".

Accompanied by Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta and the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Ambala Banto Kataria, the Haryana chief minister will visit Karnal on Tuesday where BJP president J P Nadda will kick off the party's campaign for the Lok Sabha polls in Haryana.

About Nadda's programme too, Vij said he has no information.

Notably, six-time MLA Vij had walked out of the legislature party meeting where Saini was unanimously named the chief minister-designate. Vij, who held the home portfolio in the Manohar Lal Khattar government, was often at loggerheads with the chief minister. He was earlier said to be "upset" over being "ignored" by the BJP.

Those who might be inducted into the Saini government include Kamal Gupta, an MLA from Hisar who was also a minister in the Khattar cabinet, according to sources. The others include Abhe Singh Yadav, Seema Trikha, Subhash Sudha and Bishamber Singh Balmiki.

Haryana can have a maximum of 14 ministers, including the chief minister. At present, the Haryana Cabinet has five ministers -- four from the BJP and one Independent -- apart from the chief minister.

In a surprise move last week, the BJP replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with OBC leader Saini as Haryana's chief minister in a swift switch in the state, just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Saini, who is the party's state unit president, was sworn in as chief minister a week ago along with five ministers hours after the resignation of Khattar. The Saini government won the trust vote in a special session of the state assembly last Wednesday.