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Chhattisgarh cabinet expansion soon, will have new and old faces: Vishnu Deo Sai
Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the state council of ministers will have a mix of new and old faces
RAIPUR: Back from his Delhi visit to meet the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership, Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Monday said he will soon expand his council of ministers which will have a mix of old and new faces.
“Yesterday evening I went to Delhi. I met Union home minister Amit Shah and Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda there and held some discussions. The state cabinet will be expanded very soon,” Sai told reporters in Raipur after wrapping up his Delhi trip.
Asked if he will induct new faces in his team, Sai said: “It will be a mix of old and new faces. We will have to wait for a bit for the cabinet (expansion) but it will be done soon.”
Sai, who won four consecutive Lok Sabha elections from Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh constituency between 1999 to 2014, took oath as chief minister on December 13 along with two deputies, Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma.
Arun Sao, 54, was a first-time MP from Bilaspur when he was appointed to lead the Chhattisgarh BJP unit in November 2002. He contested from the Lormi constituency and won by a margin of 45,891 votes.
Deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma, 50, is a first-time MLA from Kawardha and is general secretary of the state BJP unit.
Sai has 10 vacancies in his council of ministers since Chhattisgarh, which has a 90-member assembly, can have a maximum of 13 ministers.
BJP leaders said the chief minister could induct two women MLAs, Renuka Singh and Gomti Sai who represent the tribals in north Chhattisgarh and Lata Usendi from the tribal belt in south Chhattisgarh.
