Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday during his second visit to New Delhi after his swearing-in. According to a source, Adhikari is expected to discuss the full expansion of the cabinet during the meeting.
Previous Meetings and Current Visit
During their Delhi visit last week, both Adhikari and Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya held meetings with Shah, party's national president Nitin Nabin, and Bengal BJP in-charge Sunil Bansal. Sources indicated that Adhikari is likely to reach Delhi on Wednesday night and meet Shah the next day.
Cabinet Expansion Details
While speculations were rife over possible names of ministers, BJP sources said the first list of the cabinet is likely to accommodate a little more than 30 ministers. BJP leaders have stated they were expecting a meeting around May 27 regarding the expansion of the cabinet.
There are nearly 55 departments in the state, and Adhikari is currently looking after 43 of them. Dilip Ghosh and Kshudiram Tudu are each handling three departments, while Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, and Nishith Pramanik are each managing two departments.
Strategic Internal Balancing
Bengal BJP leaders have maintained that the delay in the full expansion was due to strategic internal balancing. The party is considering the aspirations of newly elected MLAs, as well as caste and regional equations. With 208 seats in its kitty, the central leadership is carefully mapping out berths to maintain regional and caste balances. The party aims to satisfy various crucial vote banks across different parts of the state, including north Bengal, south Bengal, and minority-influence zones.
