Naidu : Modi to expand cabinet soon

New Delhi, Nov 6: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to expand his cabinet. Telugu Desam Party is a BJP ally and it participates in the central government. Naidu had walked off the stage briefly during an interaction with the media at the World Economic Forum's India summit to attend to a phone call from Modi. Naidu later said details on the cabinet expansion will be confirmed in two days. Naidu's comments are the first confirmation of reports that Modi is expanding his cabinet soon. Speculations are rife that Modi is to induct new ministers on Sunday next. This will the first expansion since he took oath along with a slim team of 45 ministers in May. Earlier today, Modi met President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan for "Gurbani" or Sikh prayers to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Currently there are 22 cabinet members and another 22 ministers of state. Many BJP heavyweights like Nitin Gadkari have charge of multiple ministries. Arun Jaitley doubles up as Finance and Defence Minister. Manohar Parrikar, the Chief Minister of Goa, was cautious while responding to speculation that he will soon take over one of Arun Jaitley's departments.