2 min readMay 13, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: May 13, 2026 at 06:40 AM ISTThe Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, expanded his Council of Ministers by inducting 12 new members, including two of cabinet rank, nine ministers of state and one deputy minister. With this expansion, the strength of the Council of Ministers goes up to 58 with all states, particularly Punjab, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, getting due representation. Gandhi dropped the Minister of External Affairs, Bali Ram Bhagat.SAD reaffirms faith in BarnalaThe Akali Dal working committee reaffirmed its “total” faith in the leadership of the CM and party president, Surjit Singh Barnala. It reiterated its satisfaction with the liberation of the Golden Temple complex from “extremists and separatists” in accordance with the directive of the “Sarbat Khalsa”. The SGPC executive, which held a separate meeting to call for Akali unity in the interest of the “Panth”, joined the meeting to endorse its resolution reaffirming faith in Barnala.Advani reorganises BJPAdvertisementThe Bharatiya Janata Party president, L K Advani, drastically reorganised the party’s national executive, bringing in a younger set of leaders in place of old office-bearers. Advani, who announced the reorganisation at a press conference, dropped three vice-presidents, four general secretaries, five secretaries and three treasurers. Fifteen new members, a record number, were inducted.Poll boycott unheeded in NepalThe Nepalese went to the polls to choose a new national assembly, despite a call from most of the Himalayan kingdom’s outlawed political parties that the elections be boycotted. Men and women moved enthusiastically to stamp the symbol of their candidates on their ballot. A total of 1,548 people are running for 112 seats of the 140-member unicameral legislature. The other 28 members will be nominated by King Birendra.