Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh cabinet will be expanded on December 25, 2023, as Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav’s ministers will take oath at 3 pm at the Raj Bhavan. The cabinet expansion comes after several rounds of discussions between the chief minister and the central leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi.
Cabinet formation delayed due to the caste-regional equation
The cabinet formation was delayed due to the complex caste-regional equation in the state, which has 230 assembly seats. The BJP has 163 MLAs, while the Congress has 66.
According to sources, 18 ministers can take oath in the cabinet, which will have a maximum of 34 members. The names that are almost finalized for the cabinet include Pradyam Singh Tomar, Adal Singh Kansana, Harishankar Khatik, Pradeep Laria, Anil Jain, Reeti Pathak, Krishna Gaur, Tulsi Silavat, Vishnu Khatri, Malini Gaur and Ramesh Mendaula. Sources say that churning is going on in the party over the names of Prahlad Patel and Rakesh Singh, who are also MPs.
The chief minister, along with state president VD Sharma and organization general secretary Hitanand, had gone to Delhi on December 21, 2023, to finalize the names of ministers with the central leadership. They also had dinner with the MPs from the state.
CM Yadav meets President and Union Minister in Delhi
Before the cabinet expansion, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav was on a Delhi tour on December 24, 2023. There he met President Draupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and presented her a shawl and a bouquet. He also met Union Youth Programme, Sports, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur at his residence. Union Minister Thakur greeted him in traditional Himachali style and offered him a cap and a shawl.
After this meeting, CM Yadav said that he was happy that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Madhya Pradesh government was continuously moving forward for the bright future of the youth and to encourage sports. He said that he had a meeting with Union Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Anurag Thakur on various topics related to the future of youth and sports.
MLAs who were ministers three times will not get posts
Sources reveal that the party will not give posts to MLAs who have been ministers three times. Jayant Malaiya, Gopal Bhargava, Vijay Shah, Narayan Singh Kushwaha, Antar Singh Arya, and Archana Chitnis have been ministers three times each.
Jayant Malaiya, MLA from Damoh, was made a minister after the Uma Bharti government and remained a minister till 2018. Gopal Bhargava was minister from 2003 to 2018. He was the Leader of the Opposition till 2019-2020. Presently he is the temporary Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Vijay Shah became a minister in the year 2003. He remained a minister till 2023 except for a short period in between. Narayan Singh Kushwaha was a minister thrice on a caste basis. After losing the last election, he came back victorious again. Antar Singh is an Arya tribal leader. He remained a minister continuously from 2003 to 2018. Similarly, Archana Chitnis was a minister from 2003 to 2005. She was a minister in 2008-2013. Then she remained a minister between 2016-18.
