BJP Parliamentary Board will meet in New Delhi today to give final touches to the list of leaders joining the Union Council of Ministers. It will also take a call on the name of new Chief Minister of Goa to replace Manohar Parrikar. Mr Parrikar is likely to resign today as Chief Minister to join Union Council of Ministers as Defence Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will expand the Council of Ministers on Sunday. Around a dozen new ministers are likely to be inducted. Besides Mr Parrikar, the other names doing the rounds for induction are Jayant Sinha, son of former Minister Yashwant Sinha, BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, party leader from Haryana, Choudhary Birender Singh, MPs Anurag Thakur, Col. Sonaram Chaudhary and Hansraj Ahir. Some leaders of NDA allies like Shiv Sena and TDP are also expected to be inducted. There is a possibility that some ministers with independent charge may be elevated to the Cabinet rank and Ministers holding several portfolios may be divested of some of the ministries.

The race for the Goa Chief Minister's post intensified Friday with Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza staking his claim to the post of state's Chief Minister. Mr D'Souza told reporters at the airport in Panaji on his arrival from abroad that he was chief ministerial material and will not be reporting to any of his junior. Meanwhile, BJP State President Mr Vinay Tendulkar said today that to select new leader for the post of Chief Minster, senior BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Yedurappa would be arriving in Goa today.