After Raje's 'rare' 13-member team, more aspirants eye for remaining 17

JAIPUR: With the upper limit of the council of ministers set at 30, chief minister Vasundhara Raje is left with ample scope for expansion and changes in the coming days.
Raje is believed to have chosen an effective but small team of nine cabinet ministers and three ministers of state (independent charge). Including her, the council of ministers is now a team of 13, leaving a lot to option for her as she has room for 17 more.
On the other hand, with BJP storming the assembly with a huge strength of 163 MLAs, there are several more eager aspirants for the vacant berths. Several eyebrows have been raised by the absence of Brahmin leader in the list of cabinet ministers, which was seen as 'rare' by political experts. Similarly, the new team, except for Raje, does not have a strong woman representation. Names of Kiran Maheshwari (Rajsamand) and Santosh Ahlawat (Surajgarh, Jhunjhunu) were doing rounds but failed to secure a berth in the first expansion.
It is believed that these factors would be kept into consideration at the time of next expansion. Though a fair regional balance has been maintained, legislators of areas like Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Bharatpur and others are waiting to have their chance.
When Raje was first sworn in as chief minister in 2008, she had similarly chosen to begin with a small team by inducting only eight cabinet ministers and one minister of state. Raje had expanded her cabinet a month later.