Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday expanded his Cabinet on Saturday with the induction of three ministers. The swearing-in ceremony took place at 8:45 am at Raj Bhavan in Bhopal.
The names of the new ministers are:
- Rajendra Shukla, a Brahmin leader and MLA from Rewa in the Vindh region.
- Gaurishankar Bisen, legislator from Balaghat in the Mahakoshal region and chairman of the MP Backward Class Commission.
- Rahul Singh Lodhi, MLA from Narsinghpur.
The Cabinet expansion comes just months ahead of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, which are likely to be held at the end of the year. The BJP is looking to retain power in the state and the Cabinet expansion is seen as a move to strengthen the party's position.
The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has 33 ministers, including the chief minister. The maximum strength of the Cabinet is 36. With the induction of three to four new ministers, the strength of the Cabinet increased to 36 or 37.
The party is also looking to beat anti-incumbency by inducting new faces into the Cabinet . The last Cabinet expansion took place in January 2021. The current Cabinet has 31 ministers, including the chief minister. The maximum number of ministers in the Cabinet is 35, which is 15% of the strength of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly (230 members).
Chouhan became the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in March 2020 after a revolt by MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia brought down the Congress government under Kamal Nath.
The Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh are scheduled to be held in December 2023. The BJP is the incumbent party in the state and is hoping to retain power.
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