SHIMLA: Before cabinet expansion selecting the candidates for speaker and deputy speaker’s post has become a challenge for the Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. All the senior MLAs are not ready for the expansion as they all want to be inducted in cabinet in which only 10 MLAs could be included.
Winter session of Himachal Pradesh assembly would begin at Dharamshala on while the election of speaker and deputy speaker will he held on January 4 January 5.
By having an absolute majority of 40 MLAs, the Congress government is in a comfortable position to win these two posts.
Winter Session of Assembly is going to be held in Dharamshala from January 4 and the session will end on January 6. But before the cabinet expansion, the new challenge for the chief minister is the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Sources said that the Congress MLAs being approached for these two posts are showing reluctance as they are keener for the Cabinet posts. The names of 3-4 senior MLAs who are having experience and legal knowledge are doing the rounds but nothing has been finalised yet.
On the second day of winter session on January 5, the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be held after which the picture of cabinet will become clear. It is being said that before cabinet expansion, the chief minister can go to Delhi. Since coming to power the Congress government is functioning with the cabinet of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri while the remaining 10 cabinet berths lie vacant.
Earlier it was being expected that the cabinet expansion would take place before the winter session but now it will happen only after the election of speaker and deputy speaker. The reason for this is the ongoing lobbying among the MLAs for cabinet posts.
Sources said that the cabinet expansion can either take place on January 7 after the winter session or it could be held around January 15 as after January 7 the covernor would be out of state for a week and he could administer the oath to cabinet only upon his return.
