Srinagar, Oct 10: The much-awaited expansion of the Jammu and Kashmir cabinet is likely to take place next week, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expected to return from the national capital to hold consultations with National Conference (NC) president Dr Farooq Abdullah, top party sources said on Saturday.
According to sources in the NC’s top leadership, no decision has been taken yet on the expansion and the consultations will follow only after a final call is made.
The Chief Minister is scheduled to return to the Valley. He will hold talks with the party president only after a decision is taken on the expansion, a senior NC source said.
The source indicated that an announcement regarding the reshaped cabinet could come as early as next week.
 Dismissing speculation surrounding possible inductees, the sources said the names doing the rounds are mere rumours and no decision has been reached on who would be given a ministerial berth or whether any changes would be made in the existing leadership.
Nothing has been decided yet — neither on the number of new ministers nor on any changes in the present setup. Whatever is being spread about certain names is pure speculation, the source added.
The cabinet expansion has been widely anticipated, with intense speculation over the induction of new faces and a possible rejig in the council of ministers.
 Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the Council of Ministers cannot exceed one-tenth of the 90-member Assembly’s strength — capping it at nine. The present Council has six members — CM Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary and ministers Sakeena Masood (Itoo), Javed Ahmed Rana, Javid Ahmad Dar and Satish Sharma — leaving three vacancies. (KNS)
