Shivraj Singh Chouhan to expand cabinet today
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is all set to expand his cabinet on Thursday, just three months ahead of the assembly election in the state, in a bid to contain dissent within the party, said people aware of the matter.
Three new ministers are likely to be inducted in the state cabinet, they said.
Madhya Pradesh has 30 ministers at present and there are four vacant slots. MP Backward Commission chairman Gauri Shankar Bisen and Riwa MLA Rajendra Shukla are expected to be among the new ministers, said people in the know.
The new ministers will get to work for only a month and half before the dates of the election are announced and the model code of conduct kicks in.
Although the state government has seen demands for a cabinet expansion many times in the past, it did not pay heed to the demands, said people aware of the matter.
During several meetings chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah, it was felt that some of the senior leaders in the party were unhappy over being left out of the cabinet, they said.
Similar demands were made by some leaders in Karnataka, too, before the assembly polls. However, the party resisted such demands.
Learning from Karnataka, where the BJP lost the polls, the party doesn't want to take a chance in Madhya Pradesh, where Chouhan is facing an anti-incumbency, said those in the know.
Bisen, whose name is on the list, is a senior BJP leader and seven-time MLA from Balaghat. He has been vocal about his demand for a cabinet berth.
He comes from Mahakaushal region of MP where the Congress bagged 24 seats in 2018 while the BJP won 13 seats. With Bisen as minister, the party will find it easier to reach out to the region just before the election.
Four-time Riwa MLA Rajendra Shukla
