Maharashtra ministry expansion tomorrow

Mumbai: After poll debacle in general elections in Maharashtra, ruling Congress-NCP alliance has decided to expand the state Cabinet. The expansion is going to be held on Thursday morning at 10 am at Raj Bhavan, official sources confirmed the development.

The expansion comes after a meeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan held with Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, in the wake of the drubbing the ruling alliance suffered in the Lok Sabha polls.

The poll results saw Congress getting its lowest tally of just two of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

With the sacking of state Medical Education Minister Vijaykumar Gavit, one Cabinet rank of NCP is vacant.

Besides, the term of Minister of State for Education, Health and Culture Fouzia Khan as MLC has ended. NCP has already served a notice to Khan over non-cooperation with official NCP candidate in Parbhani during the recent Lok Sabha polls.

The sources said senior NCP leader Suryakanta Patil is in race to fill in the Cabinet post while state NCP working president Jitendra Awhad and Sharad are in race to replace Fouzia Khan.

Meanwhile, legislators Amit Deshmukh, son of former Chief Minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh, Kalyan Kale and senior leader Rohidas Patil are among the probables from the Congress, which has three ministerial berths vacant, including one Cabinet.