All indications emerging from New Delhi suggest that the Union cabinet will be expanded by Wednesday evening.
Speculations that a cabinet expansion was in the offing have been doing rounds since the past few days, but the 2-hour-long meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday morning was seen as the finalization of the names to be inducted.
According to indications from Congress circles, the expansion could take place at around 5pm.
Political observers say that the prime minister's desire to see younger faces amongst his ministerial colleagues may have to be put on hold, considering the rough weather faced by the ruling party during the Parliametn's winter session when the house was put to ransom by the Opposition over the 2G spectrum allocation issue.
The indications emerging suggest that the Congress chief may well opt for experience and sagacity in the Cabinet rather than youth, to handle the expected Opposition onslaught over rising prices.
MPs from Andhra Pradesh, particularly from the Telangana region, are hoping that theirs may be among the names that are expected to be announced on Wednesday.
Despite the leaders from Telangana issuing regular statements that they would rather fight for separate statehood than become a cabinet ministers, the presence of MPs (like Madhu Yaskhi Goud) from the region, in New Delhi, speaks volumes about their ambitions.