Union Cabinet expansion indication of NDA regime just starting to work: Chacko

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to expand his Union Council of Ministers, senior Congress leader and former union minister P.C. Chacko on Sunday said clearly indicates that the ruling government has just started to work.

"The Cabinet expansion means they have just started to work, many important portfolios were under additional charge. Better late than never, we wish them well," Chacko told ANI here.

As many as 20 new faces are expected to be inducted into the Union Council of Ministers today.

Manohar Parrikar, who tendered his resignation as the Chief Minister of Goa on Saturday, is expected to take charge as the country's next Defence Minister.

Besides Parrikar, party MPs Anurag Thakur, Col. Sonaram Chaudhary and Hansraj Ahir are among those likely to be included in the Cabinet.

BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Bandaru Datttatreya are also expected to be allotted Cabinet berths.

Former union minister Yashwant Sinha's son Jayant too is in the race for the Cabinet berth, with reports suggesting that the first-time Hazaribagh MP is being considered as a Minister of State (MoS) for Defence or Finance.

Olympian shooter-turned-politician Rajyavardhan Rathore, who won from Rajasthan in the general elections, is also expected to be included in the Cabinet.

Shiv Sena's Suresh Prabhu and Anil Desai, and TDP's Y.S. Choudhary are expected to find a place in the Cabinet.

According to reports, the upcoming assembly elections in different states are also being taken into consideration while finalizing the list of new faces.