With ten MLAs likely to take oath as ministers, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will expand his Cabinet on Tuesday. On December 17 when Baghel was sworn in as chief minister, TS Singh Deo and Tamradhwaj Sahu had taken oath as ministers.

At most, the Chhattisgarh cabinet can have 13 ministers including the chief minister. The state has 90 assembly seats.

In recently-held Chhattisgarh assembly elections, Congress registered a landslide victory by bagging 68 seats. The BJP, which was in power in the state since 2003, won only 15 seats.

On Saturday, in Delhi, Baghel met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and finalised names of ministers, a party leader said on Sunday.

"The party has tried to give representation to leaders from all the communities in the Cabinet. Almost all the senior leaders have been covered. Besides 11 Lok Sabha constituencies are also kept in mind in view of 2019 elections while finalising the Cabinet", he said.

Governor Anandiben Patel will administer the oath to the new ministers on December 25, the Christmas day, at Rajbhawan, he added.

Portfolios of the ministers will be decided after the oath-taking ceremony, he added.

A senior official at the Governor House has confirmed that the ceremony will take place at 11 am on Tuesday.

Former Union minister Charandas Mahant, who was one of the runner ups for the chief minister post, four-time MLA Mohammad Akbar, former minister and OBC heavyweight Dhanendra Sahu, senior leader and former Leader of Opposition Ravindra Choubey, former minister Satyanaryan Sharma,

Amitesh Shukla, Arun Vora (son of AICC General Secretary Motilal Vora) and woman leader and two time MLA Anila Bhedia are key contenders for the Cabinet berths.

Senior tribal leaders Amarjeet Bhagat, Mohan Markam, Rampukar Singh Thakur, Kawasi Lakhma and Prem Sai Singh Tekam are believed to be in the reckoning for ministerial berths from tribal-dominated areas, sources said.

However, the choice of a minister from Scheduled Caste (SC) community would be between State Congress Working President Shiv Kumar Daharia and Rudra Guru, they said.