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Expanding cabinet will be tightrope walk for Himachal CM
Two cabinet berths and speaker post in the offing; Nurpur MLA Rakesh Pathania and four time Sarkaghat MLA Colonel Inder Singh front runners for respective posts
With many aspirants eyeing portfolios in the offing, the state cabinet expansion will be seemingly a tight rope walk for chief minister Jai Ram Thakur. Thakur will be have to strike a balance between different caste and regions while picking up cabinet ministers .
Chief minister Thakur is likely to expand his cabinet ahead of budget session slated for February 26, but much depends on the outcome of assembly elections in Delhi. The aspirants are frequenting corridors of power to strengthen their claims and meeting leaders in Delhi and Shimla. Two cabinet berths had fallen vacant after food minister Kishan Kapoor was elected to the Parliament and power minister Anil Sharma had to resign after the Congress fielded his son Ashray Sharma from Mandi.
Many of the aspirants remained stationed in Delhi on the pretext of assembly elections to cement their chances in the state cabinet expansion. Three-time firebrand legislator from Nurpur, Rakesh Pathania, is front runner for one of the two seats but faces stiff competition from three-time old guard Ramesh Dhawala. Pathania belongs to Rajput community and Dhawla is from other backward class that forms a formidable population in the political sensitive Kangra district comprising 15 assembly segment . Narender Thakur, son of BJP stalwart Jagdev Chanda Thakur, was keen on cabinet berth as Hamirpur is unrepresented in the state cabinet. But the party insiders were of then view that Thakur claims do not find favour as he is just a two-time legislator .
The post of speaker is also lying vacant after Rajeev Bindal gave up his office to head the state unit of the BJP.
After Bindal’s resignation, Sirmaur district also remains unrepresented. There is every likelihood that four-time legislator from Paonta Sahib, Sukhram Chaudhary, gets a cabinet berth. Choosing a speaker will be no easy task for chief minister Jai Ram Thakur as many senior leaders in the party are vying for the post, name of Colonel Inder Singh, a four-time legislator from Sarkaghat, was doing round for the coveted post . Former horticulture minister Narinder Bragta, who is also the chief whip of the party, is also in the fray for the post. Some leaders have suggested name of social justice minister Rajiv Sezal for the post. Saizal is a legislator from Kasuali assembly segment . Hectic parleys are on in the BJP since the speaker will have to be appointed ahead of the budget session. Chief minister Thakur, who returned after campaigning for the party in Delhi for the assembly polls, has hinted that the he could rejig the cabinet well before the budget session and also fill the vacant berths shortly. Thakur rubbished allegations of the Congress that majority of the minister did not sit in secretariat and spend more time outside their offices rather doing work.
