New Delhi: Barring a last-minute hitch with the Shiv Sena, the stage is set for the first expansion of the Union Council of Ministers on Sunday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
About 20 new members are likely to take oath as ministers on Sunday, including the likes of Mr Manohar Parrikar (who has resigned as Goa CM), BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, among others.
The delay in firming up an arrangement for the Shiv Sena to join the Maharashtra Council of Ministers appears to have made uncertain the likelihood of party nominee Anil Desai, a Rajya Sabha MP, joining the Narendra Modi Cabinet.
Union minister Anant Geete, a Shiv Sena leader, was tipped to meet the PM on Saturday but could not keep the appointment, apparently on the instructions of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, sources said.
