Kolkata: CM Suvendu Adhikari’s scheduled meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah has been deferred, with the latter on a two-day Gujarat visit starting Thursday. Sources said Adhikari was scheduled to reach New Delhi on Thursday night to discuss the Bengal cabinet expansion with Shah. However, even with the discussion getting delayed, the full expansion might still happen on the first week of June, said sources.The full expansion of the Bengal cabinet is being considered by BJP’s central leadership.“We expected the full expansion of the Bengal cabinet to happen at the same time as Assam. That did not happen. It seems the process is getting delayed over several considerations by the party’s top leadership,” said a Bengal BJP neta.Bengal BJP netas are also expecting a Union cabinet reshuffle by the end of June, and that some BJP MPs from Bengal might be accommodated in it.Meanwhile, Adhikari on Wednesday held a long meeting with governor RN Ravi at Lok Bhavan. The meeting, which lasted for nearly one hour and 40 minutes, is being viewed as politically significant with state govt looking to have a full-fledged council of ministers before the assembly budget session.While no official statement has been issued regarding the discussion, sources said the CM and the governor discussed the swearing in of new ministers, with Ravi expected to administer the oath at Lok Bhavan.State BJP sources said that the initial list of portfolios might include 30 members.
