Fadnavis to expand his Cabinet on Friday

After being left out in the recent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers, the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to reach out to its ally Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.Sources said the expansion of Maharashtra Cabinet is expected to take place on Friday. While the BJP is expected to get five berths, Shiv Sena will get 2.The 20-month-old Fadnavis government will fill up portfolios rendered vacant after the resignation of senior minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges in June.The 10 portfolios handled by him are temporarily with Fadnavis."The Cabinet expansion will be held tomorrow," a senior government official said.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 on Friday.BJP allies - Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha and Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha - are likely to be inducted.