Srinagar, Oct. 8 -- : Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the long-pending expansion of his cabinet will take place after the GST Council meeting in Delhi and consultations with National Conference president Farooq Abdullah. The statement comes as the Omar government approaches two years in office on October 16 with the same set of council of ministers who took the oath in October 2024. "I had said that after the (assembly) session, which has just been completed. I would have done it in these days. But tomorrow there is a meeting of the GST council in Delhi. So we will complete it, and then we will consult with Farooq Abdullah, and we will do whatever needs to be done," he told reporters in Srinagar. The autumn session of the assembly concluded on September 30. For the past nearly 2 years, Omar, despite pressure from within the party, has kept delaying the expansion and once even said that there were still impediments within the ruling NC that were delaying the decision. He had also dropped hints about the expansion several times in the past three months. Last year, he had said that after the Rajya Sabha and bypolls, there could be a cabinet expansion. "Induction of a few more ministers is on the cards," he had said soon after the NC won three of the four RS seats. The chief minister can induct three more people into the cabinet and could also reshuffle the portfolios of five ministers who are part of the council of ministers. Currently, the government has five ministers, including deputy chief minister Surinder Gupta. The fresh expansion could take the strength of the cabinet to eight. Currently, three ministers are from Jammu and two from Kashmir. Even senior colleagues of Omar, including Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan and Nasir Aslam Wani, have said that cabinet expansion is the prerogative of the chief minister. Ramzan, a two-time former minister and now Rajya Sabha member, however, said the expansion should take place without any delay. "The cabinet expansion should happen as it is very important. Our J&K has many regions, religions and topographies. When J&K was a state, we used to have 25 ministers. Now we can have only nine ministers. As additional general secretary of the party, I feel it is very important to have a cabinet expansion," Ramzan said, adding that ultimately it will be the prerogative of the chief minister to dec ide who will be part of the cabinet. The reshuffle is being seen as important to streamline governance, with opposition leaders, especially those from the PDP and the People's Conference, accusing the government of failing to fulfil its promises and run the administration smoothly, particularly when ministers are said to be overburdened. Though several names are doing the rounds for possible induction, party leaders privy to the developments said all three could be from the NC, as Congress, which contested the polls with the NC, has refused to join the government unless J&K gets statehood. Senior Congress leaders have maintained that statehood, not cabinet berths, is their priority. NC leaders are hopeful that Omar will balance regional representation while addressing a restless electorate seeking immediate results. Several senior legislators from J&K are hopeful of getting a place in the cabinet. Party leaders, who did not wish to be named, said the chief minister was finding it difficult to accommodate all, as there are only three berths available, which is said to be the main reason for the delay. On the other hand, the BJP, the main opposition in J&K, has mocked the chief minister over the delay, saying that he fears that many legislators could leave the party if they are not given cabinet portfolios....