The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh cabinet was expanded on Thursday with some of the former Congress MLAs who joined the BJP in March acquiring ministerial berths. Sources with the Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier claimed about two dozen new ministers will be inducted. The oath of office was administered by Governor Anandiben Patel at Raj Bhawan. Patel, who is Uttar Pradesh governor, has been given additional charge as Madhya Pradesh governor in view of incumbent Lalji Tandon’s hospitalisation. Patel took oath as MP Governor earlier in the day.
The cabinet expansion was confirmed by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Asked about the delay in cabinet expansion, Chouhan avoided a direct reply and turned to mythology.
“Only ‘amrit’ (elixir) comes out of ‘manthan’ (churning), vish (poison) is consumed by (Lord) Shiva,” the BJP leader said without elaborating but indicating the difficult task before him.
BJP national vice president Vinay Sahastrabuddhe had arrived in Bhopal on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the expansion, BJP sources said.
A BJP leader said that Sahastrabuddhe, Chouhan and state BJP chief VD Sharma had held meetings on Wednesday night with party legislators at the CM’s house to give final touches to the list of new ministers.
They also tried to mollify some senior BJP legislators who would not get a cabinet berth, he said. Former Union minister and BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia early on Thursday had arrived to participate in the oath-taking ceremony.The initial “mini” expansion of the Chouhan cabinet took place on April 21 with the induction of five ministers, including two former Congress MLAs close to Scindia — Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput.
Chouhan took oath as chief minister for a record fourth term on March 23 this year, after Kamal Nath resigned from the post following rebellion by 22 MLAs of the Congress.