Uttarakhand: Dhami expands cabinet, inducts five MLAs

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expanded his cabinet on Friday, with five MLAs taking oath as ministers at the Lok Bhavan.

With the induction of the new ministers -- Khazan Das, Bharat Singh Chaudhary, Madan Kaushik, Pradeep Batra, and Ram Singh Kaida -- the Uttarakhand cabinet has reached its maximum strength of 12, officials said.

During a ceremony held at the Lok Bhawan here, Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd.) administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers. Khajan Das represents the Rajpur Road constituency in Dehradun, while Bharat Singh Chaudhary represents Rudraprayag, Madan Kaushik represents Haridwar, Pradeep Batra represents Roorkee, and Ram Singh Kaira represents Bhimtal.

Chaudhary, Batra and Kaira have received the opportunity to serve as ministers for the first time, whereas Das and Kaushik have previously been in the cabinet.