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Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will expand his Council of Ministers on August 6.
Patnaik, who called on Governor M M Rajendran to discuss the matter on Wednesday, disclosed this to reporters.
The number of ministers in Orissa, including Patnaik, had come down from 25 to 21 after he dropped three ministers -- Nalini Mohanty and Kamala Das of his own Biju Janata Dal and Prasanta Nanda of the Bharatiya Janata Party -- after they were charged with corruption last year.
Schools and mass education minister Bhagbat Behera died of a brain tumour last month.
Patnaik, who heads a BJD-BJP coalition, is under pressure from party colleagues to induct more ministers.
Though Patnaik has announced the date for the expansion, he did not say anything about the intended size of his government. He may introduce some new faces and drop older faces, sources close to the chief minister told rediff.com
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