New cabinet will work for betterment of Madhya Pradesh: CM Yadav

Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh cabinet expansion, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday said the new cabinet will work for the state’s betterment under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders.

The new cabinet ministers will be administered oath at 3.30 pm on Monday by Governor Mangubhai Patel, Yadav told reporters outside the Raj Bhawan. The CM arrived at the Raj Bhawan to meet the governor before the oath-taking ceremony.

”The new cabinet will work for the betterment of the state under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda and state party chief VD Sharma,” said the CM, who met Nadda in New Delhi on Sunday evening.

Twenty eight ministers are likely to take oath as part of the cabinet expansion, sources said.

CM Yadav, however, refused to reveal the exact number and names of the MLAs to be inducted into the council of ministers.

The MP cabinet headed by Yadav has two deputy chief ministers- Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda.

The maximum strength of the council of ministers in Madhya Pradesh, which has 230 MLAs, can be 35, including the CM.

”After clinching a landslide victory under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our double engine government will move ahead under his leadership and that of BJP chief JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah,” Yadav said on Sunday.

Preparations for the oath-taking ceremony were underway at the Raj Bhawan.

In the state assembly elections held last month, the BJP won 163 seats and the Congress 66. Yadav took oath as chief minister on December 13 along with Shukla and Devda who were sworn in as deputy CMs.