Devendra Fadnavis to expand Maharashtra Cabinet on Friday

Portfolios rendered vacant after the resignation of senior minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges last month are expected to be filled

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will expand his Cabinet tomorrow.

The 20-month-old Fadnavis government will fill up portfolios rendered vacant after the resignation of senior minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges last month.

The 10 portfolios handled by him are temporarily with Fadnavis.

"The Cabinet expansion will be held tomorrow," a senior government official said this morning.

The expansion comes ahead of the Monsoon session starting July 18 and two days before Fadnavis begins his four-day Russia tour on July 10.

The Fadnavis government, which has 19 Cabinet ministers and 10 Ministers of State, has 14 more berths to fill. It is not known if all berths will be filled tomorrow.

BJP allies - Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha and Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha - are likely to be inducted.

There's no word yet on Shiv Sena's participation, in the backdrop of BJP giving its ally a could shoulder in the recent Union Cabinet expansion.