Two of BJP’s junior Ministers may be elevated to Cabinet 

·        Sajjad Lone likely to get Social Welfare portfolio

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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Jammu, March 18: Even as Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Tuesday assigned the portfolio of Panchayati Raj Institutions to the PDP leader and Minister of Rural Development Abdul Haq Khan, two of the coalition partner BJP’s junior Ministers are likely to be elevated to the Cabinet rank in near future.

Well-placed political sources revealed that the process of “balancing the distribution of Ministerial berths and portfolios between the coalition allies” was underway in the wake of discontentment in the BJP camp. As against PDP’s 11 Cabinet Ministers (including Chief Minister), BJP has currently just 6 Ministers (including the electoral ally Peoples Conference’s Sajjad Gani Lone) in the Cabinet. Besides, PDP has got 3 Ministers of State and BJP 5 (including associate member Pawan Gupta).

While as PDP had won 28 seats in the Assembly elections  and later an independent from Ladakh also aligned with it, BJP has 25 MLAs and three associate members. Aggregate number of the PDP-plus associates is 30 and BJP-plus associates is currently 29.

“Minister of State Ladakh Affairs Chering Dorje, who is holding the portfolio of Cooperative independently, as also MoS Rural Development and Horticulture Abdul Gani Kohli, who is retaining Transport independently, are likely to be elevated to the Cabinet rank. It could happen anytime in the current month”, said a top level BJP source. “Even this upgradation would not assuage the feelings of our cadres as PDP would still hold 11 Cabinet berths against the would-be 8 of BJP”, he said. He further disclosed that the party high command could request Forest Minister Bali Bhagat to spare his Social Welfare portfolio for Sajjad Lone who has not been reportedly content with the portfolios of Science & Technology and Animal Husbandry.

As regards the discontentment expressed silently by Minister of Horticulture Abdul Rehamn Veeri and vociferously by PDP’s MLA of Zadibal Maulvi Abid Ansari, sources ruled out any change of portfolios in the PDP camp. “Mufti Sahab has unequivocally made it clear to all concerned that there would be no change of portfolios of the PDP Ministers for one year”, said an insider.

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