Cabinet expansion after consultation with central leaders: HP CM

The Cabinet expansion in Himachal Pradesh will be done after consultation with the central BJP leaders, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Friday.

A day after the saffron party's massive victory in the state, Thakur told the media, "The cabinet expansion will be done after consulting party leaders as and when its requirement is felt."

A berth in the state Cabinet has been lying vacant for over a month following Mandi MLA Anil Sharma's resignation as the power minister, while another will fall vacant soon as food and civil supplies minister Kishan Kapoor has been elected to parliament from Kangra constituency.

Sharma had resigned from the Cabinet in April following pressure from the BJP as he refused to campaign for the party's candidate from Mandi Ram Swaroop Sharma because his son Aashray was contesting from the seat on a Congress ticket.

In March, Sharma's father, former Union minister and chief minister Sukh Ram, too had quit the BJP and joined the Congress along with Aashray ...