Jharkhand cabinet to be expanded today, new faces expected

Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren is scheduled to expand his cabinet on Friday, which will include numerous new faces, including JMM head Shibu Soren's younger son Basant Soren, who is expected to take oath as the new deputy CM.

According to sources, two deputy chief ministers, one from the JMM and the other from the Congress quota, will most likely take oath in the Raj Bhawan. Champai Soren (JMM) took the oath with two ministers: Alamgir Alam of the Congress and Satyanand Bhokta, the lone RJD MLA. His cabinet could seat 12 ministers, including the Chief Minister himself, the New Indian Express reported.

According to JMM sources, the party is likely to retain most of the cabinet positions held by legislators in the previous government, with the chance of one or two changes. Congress, on the other hand, is set to undergo considerable changes, with at least three out of four cabinet positions expected to be filled by new faces.

The list of potential candidates has already been forwarded to the party's top leadership, who will make the final selection. Alamgir Alam, Dr Rameshwar Oraon, Banna Gupta, and Badal served as Congress quota ministers in the previous government. Nonetheless, sources suggest that other than Alam, the other three will be replaced with new faces.

According to Congress insiders, former ministers Banna Gupta, Rameshwar Oraon, and Badal Patralekh are likely to be replaced by new and young faces such as Anup Singh and Dipika Pandey Singh, who also have a solid connection with top Congress leaders.