The much talked about cabinet expansion has been postponed by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, which has left veteran Congress leader Sukh Ram’s son Anil Sharma high and dry since he had already been given an office. Even invitation cards of his swearing-in ceremony had also already been distributed for the planned ceremony on Saturday, but on the last movement it was canceled without giving any reason. Though, the state government cited Governor Urmila Singh’s ill health as the reason behind cancelling the ceremony, but power sharing in the state government is hampering cabinet expansion in the state.
Now to fill the vacancies in his ministry soon, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has left for New Delhi to discuss the issue with the Congress high command and seek clearance. He will meet various leaders in the next two days and return on February 27.
If sources believed, Virbhadra Singh wanted to fill the both vacancies in one go and along with Mandi legislature Anil Sharma, MLA Banjar Karan Singh is his choice for the post. Both these leaders are from Mandi parliamentary, which is schedule to go for bye-poll in coming few months and coronation of these leaders can make huge difference in the election. However, infighting within the state unit seems dragging this issue further and can take few more time to settle it down.
