Capt may defer expansion

New Delhi, Punjab Cabinet expansion seems to have been deferred for now and may well not take place any time soon. These signals emerged from a meeting Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi here this afternoon.
The expansion may now take place after the conclusion of the upcoming municipal corporation elections and the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelection.

Party sources told The Tribune that although discussions on Cabinet expansion took place at the meeting, a view emerged that this might not be the best time to stretch the Council of Ministers. Captain had in April said he would expand his Cabinet before the state Budget session, but that has not happened. The party now feels status quo may be more beneficial since Cabinet expansion can leave some sections disgruntled — not a happy situation for the party with the local body elections round the corner. “Everyone wants a place in the Cabinet. We have important elections coming up. The existing Cabinet is doing its job well and there is no hurry for expansion. A view has emerged that expansion can wait until after the elections,” said a source.
Captain also briefed Rahul on key decisions taken during the first 100 days of his government, such as farm loan waiver, crackdown on drugs, crop procurement and end to VIP culture.
Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar met Rahul and AICC in-charge for state Asha Kumari separately, telling the party vice-president the party needed to market the achievements of the Punjab Government. “We may fall in the same trap as UPA-II at the Centre, which was unable to market its achievements well. We are up against the NDA government which is marketing even ‘zero achievement’. I have urged Gandhi to address this matter,” said Jakhar.