Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Sunday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid the speculations of a cabinet expansion or reshuffle in the state.
A day before, the Chief Minister had met party national president JP Nadda in New Delhi. The Chief Minister also met BJP national general secretary BL Santosh on Sunday.
The series of meetings in New Delhi have triggered speculations of a possible cabinet expansion or reshuffle in the coming days. Sources said that besides discussion on the overall political scenario in the state, issues of cabinet expansion and upcoming Baroda by-election were also discussed.
Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party is an alliance partner of the Manohar Lal Khatter-led Haryana Government. The JJP, with its 10 MLAs, had last year allied with the BJP in October after the assembly election results threw up a fractured mandate.
Apart from the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, there are currently 10 council of ministers comprising one from its alliance partner and an independent in the Cabinet.
The cabinet can have 14 members, including the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, with two slots kept for the future expansion. Notably, Haryana is on a boil due to farmers’ protest over the issue of farms’ bills.
A threat to the political alliance between the BJP and JJP in Haryana is looming large after the SAD broke decades old alliance with the BJP in neighboring Punjab over the farms’ bills.