Second expansion of Madhya Pradesh cabinet soon: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Bhopal: The second expansion of Madhya Pradesh cabinet will take place soon, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday.

The initial ‘mini’ expansion of the cabinet had taken place on April 21 with induction of five ministers, nearly a month after Chouhan took oath as the chief minister for a record fourth term.

“The expansion of the cabinet will take place soon,” Chouhan said in a statement.

He said an important meeting on the issue took place on Wednesday between him, state BJP unit president (VD Sharma) and state organisation general secretary (Suhas Bhagat).

“We had a detailed discussion on all aspects. Now another round of talks will be held in Delhi and soon the cabinet will be expanded,” Chouhan said.

Though it has been almost two months since the cabinet was expanded, the Covid-19 crisis and the Rajya Sabha elections held on June 19, have delayed the second expansion, sources said.

Chouhan had inducted five ministers, including Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput who were part of the erstwhile Kamal Nath cabinet, in his government. Three other ministers– Narottam Mishra, Kamal Patel and Meena Singh–had also taken oath.

Chouhan can induct 28 more ministers in his cabinet, sources said.

The BJP came to power in March after Nath resigned as chief minister, following rebellion by at least two dozen MLAs of the Congress who sided with Jyotiraditya Scindia.