AM Shahjahan and Vanni Arasu from IUML and VCK respectively were sworn in as ministers in Tamil Nadu, increasing the number of allies in the TVK government. This marks the first time representatives from both parties have been inducted into the state cabinet, signifying a shift in Tamil Nadu's coalition dynamics.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay expanded his Cabinet, inducting 23 more legislators as ministers, including two from the Congress party, marking their return to governance in the state after nearly 60 years.
Thirty-five BJP MLAs were sworn in as ministers as part of an expansion of the Suvendu Adhikari-led cabinet in West Bengal. The oath-taking ceremony took place weeks after Adhikari was sworn in as chief minister.
Ten days after the expansion of the BJP government's cabinet in West Bengal, key portfolios have been allocated, with senior leader Tapas Roy taking charge of industries and journalist-turned-politician Swapan Dasgupta appointed finance minister.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the names of the probable ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party in his cabinet have been shortlisted and the final decision will be taken by the party's central leadership.
Nishant Kumar, son of former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, is poised to enter Bihar politics by joining the Samrat Choudhary government, marking a significant development in the state's political landscape.
Amid intense discussions among Mahayuti allies over the distribution of portfolios and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's insistence on the home ministry, the clarity on the composition of the council of ministers is expected by Sunday, sources said.
Raj Bhavan sources said the swearing-in ceremony will be held at 11 am on Sunday, a day before the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, the last before assembly polls later this year, begins.
Gujarat will go to polls in two phases on December 1 and 5, with the counting of votes on December 8.
The ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra on Thursday said the state cabinet's expansion and allocation of portfolios are most likely to happen on July 14, but the rival faction of the party said it doubts the MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde-led camp would be accommodated in the new ministry.
The Maharashtra government is set to expand its cabinet on December 15 with 30-32 ministers taking the oath of office at a ceremony in Nagpur. The week-long winter session of the state legislature is scheduled to begin in Nagpur on December 16. The BJP-led government, which came to power after the November 20 assembly polls, has seen its fair share of twists and turns in the cabinet formation process. The BJP is likely to get 20-21 ministerial berths, followed by 11-12 for the Sena and 9-10 for the NCP.
As per the Chief Minister's official schedule, Siddaramaiah will be leaving for Delhi by a special flight at 6:30 pm, and will halt in the national capital tonight.
Sources in the BJP said the expansion of the cabinet was unlikely before the session though the allocation of portfolios to the NCP ministers might happen in the coming days.
After Punjab, the party high command has shifted its focus to Rajasthan, where demands for Cabinet expansion and political appointments gained momentum after reports of resentment in the camp led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who along with 18 MLAs had rebelled against the leadership of Gehlot last year.
Currently, CM Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis are the only members of the cabinet.
The SC agreed to hear on July 11 the plea of Shiv Sena's Sunil Prabhu seeking suspension from Assembly of CM Shinde and 15 rebel MLAs against whom disqualification pleas are pending.
Recent BJP organisational moves and Rajya Sabha nominations have sparked speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may soon undertake a ministerial reshuffle.
The Chief Minister has been under intense pressure for some time now, over expansion and rejig of the Cabinet not taking place, to make way for the fresh faces, ahead of Assembly elections by April-May next year.
He said the cabinet expansion exercise may not take a week's time and a direction from the leadership was likely by Monday.
Several loyal party old guards were unhappy and had expressed their displeasure openly about "migrants" scuttling the chances of them becoming ministers.
A political controversy has erupted in Tamil Nadu after the Tamil invocation song was rendered last during the swearing-in of new ministers. Left parties have criticised the decision to sing the Tamil anthem after Vande Mataram and the national anthem.
A senior official in the Chief Minister's Secretariat said Goel had cited "health reasons" for the sudden resignation.
All Gujarat ministers, except the Chief Minister, resigned a day before the planned cabinet expansion. The expansion is scheduled for Friday.
A dozen ministers will take oath at Tuesday's ceremony, scheduled at Raj Bhavan at 11 am.
Hectic parleys were on between Bommai and central leaders in Delhi during the last couple of days, to finalise the cabinet expansion.
'It all depends on how Shivakumar uses him and treats him.'
Samrat Choudhary's appointment as Bihar's Chief Minister marks a significant milestone for the BJP, ushering in a new era of leadership in the state's political landscape.
Few leaders since Independence have been able to establish such a direct connection with the electorate or shape the national conversation to the extent that Narendra Modi has done over the past decade, points out former Union minister Dr Karan Singh.
As Shastri Bhawan nears demolition, one of Delhi's most iconic government buildings leaves behind six decades of stories, power, journalism and public life.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday met Congress parliamentary party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi at their residence in New Delhi.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar intervened during the swearing-in ceremony of a new minister, S Rajesh Kumar, after he deviated from the written oath by hailing party leaders. The incident occurred during the expansion of the TVK Cabinet.
Basant Soren, JMM supremo Shibu Soren's youngest son, and seven others on Friday took oath as ministers in Jharkhand's Champai Soren-led government.
The Bihar cabinet has expanded significantly with 32 new ministers taking oath, including Nishant Kumar, son of JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar. The expansion includes representatives from all five NDA constituents in the state.
The expansion of the Prithviraj Chavan-led Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition cabinet in Maharashtra, which was scheduled on Thursday, has been put off, reportedly as the names of the new entrants are yet to be finalised. The expansion of the 11-member ministry was slated to take place at Raj Bhavan on Thursday evening but has been postponed, official sources said, adding that the swearing-in-ceremony is now likely to take place at 11 am on Friday.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay concluded his first official visit to Delhi, meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss key state issues.
With the cabinet expansion being deferred repeatedly, several aspirants, especially those from Congress, had openly expressed their displeasure over the delay, piling pressure on the party to fill its quota so as to avoid any trouble ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The cabinet expansion is on the cards for nearly two months ever since the BJP won the maximum number of seats in the December 5, 2019 bypolls and got a majority in the Karnataka assembly.
The Bihar government, led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, has renamed the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park as 'Patna Zoo' and the Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Dairy Technology as 'Bihar State Institute of Dairy Technology'. The cabinet also approved significant allocations for electricity subsidies, college establishments, and infrastructure projects.
Upset over the "delay" in the expansion of the Karnataka Cabinet, a section of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party legislators on Wednesday threatened to take the issue to the party's central leadership if the exercise was not completed by Saturday. Members of Legislative Assembly C T Ravi and M P Appachu Ranjan held a press conference, expressing their anger over the "delay".
