Ahead of the much-awaited cabinet expansion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met all the probable ministers at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Those who met the prime minister included BJP's Narayan Rane, Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ajay Bhatt, Bhupender Yadav, Shobha Karandlaje, Sunita Duggal, Meenakshi Lekhi, Bharati Pawar, Shantanu Thakur and Kapil Patil, JD(U)'s R C P Singh, LJP's Pashupati Paras and Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel. Some ministers of state, including G Kishan Reddy, Parshottam Rupala and Anurag Thakur, were also there, and they may be elevated, sources said.
Around 43 persons, including those getting a promotion, may take oath, and they will be a mix of youth and those with administrative experience, including former chief ministers. It is expected that Union ministers R.K. Singh, Mansukh Mandaviya and Hardeep Singh Puri may get promoted as part of the rejig. A few incumbent ministers, including health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, tendered their resignations on Wednesday to make for the new lot.
The expansion exercise is scheduled to be held at 6 pm at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
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