HP cabinet to be expanded tomorrow

The two-month old Himachal Pradesh Cabinet will be expanded with the induction of a new face tomorrow.
Anil Sharma, former minister of state and son of former Union Communication Minister Sukh Ram, will be inducted as Cabinet Minister while one post will remain vacant.
With the induction of Sharma, the strength of the Cabinet, including the Chief Minister, would go up to 11 while the ceiling on number of minister is 12.
The new minister would be administered oath of office secrecy in the afternoon after the Governor Urmilla Singh returns from Delhi, official sources said.
Sharma, a three-time MLA and a former Rajya Sabha MP, was elected from Mandi for the first time in 1993 and served as minister of state in Virbhadra Singh Government from 1993 to 1998.

He resigned as a minister in the wake of arrest of his father in telecom scam and also quit the Congress to join Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC), floated by his father.
Sharma was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1998 as BJP-HVC combine nominee and rejoined Congress in 2004 after HVC merged with Congress.
He was re-elected to state Assembly in 2007 and 2012.