BANGALORE: The State Cabinet is expected to be expanded on April 18 or 20 depending on which day is found to be more "auspicious" and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has six berths, is engaged in an exercise to come up with a matrix that will make all sections happy.

Sources told The Hindu that the expansion will be aimed at dispelling the impression that the southern districts, in particular Shimoga, was favoured excessively in February's expansion, creating a "severe regional imbalance" and to mollify several MLAs who have returned to the Assembly more than twice, representing districts such as Bijapur, Bagalkot, Belgaum and Uttara Kannada, will be chosen.

Prominent in the race is the third time MLA from Mayakonda, S.A Ravindranath, and Shivananda Naik, elected from Bhatkal for the second time. Their supporters had angrily stormed the Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa's residence within an hour of the swearing in ceremony on finding Mr. Ravindranath's name missing from the list of Ministers. Prakash Khandre (Bhalki) and Rajendra Verma (Hulsoor -SC) too are in the race from Bidar, along with Lakshman Savadi from Athani for four berths.

The fifth meant for a Panchamshali Lingayat candidate, who will represent Bijapur and Bagalkot districts, will come from a "pool" of eight MLAs in these districts. To ensure that there is no post-expansion blues, the party leadership has decided that these eight MLAs will decide among themselves which fortunate one will become a Minister.

This leaves the sixth place, reserved, rather reluctantly, for a woman Minister. Having fielded very few women candidates in the 2004 Assembly elections, the BJP has few options among the women to fulfil a commitment to gender equity. There are two women MLAs Sunita Veerappa Gowda (Puttur) and Shakuntala Shetty (Bannur). The other two are MLCs — Shobha Karandlaje and Vimala Gowda.

Although Ms. Shakuntala Shetty is a second time MLA, since Nagaraj Shetty from the same community has already made it to the Cabinet, she may lose out on a chance to become a Minister. Between the two MLCs, Ms. Vimala Gowda will be retiring in June and is unlikely to be given another term. That leaves the contest between Ms. Karandlaje, a very junior member of the party as well as the Upper House, and Ms. Sunita Veerappa Gowda.

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