With the Madhya Pradesh assembly election just a few months away, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to expand the cabinet. In the midst of discussions about a potential cabinet expansion, a meeting of Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and BJP State President VD Sharma with Chief Minister Chouhan is underway. Currently, both leaders are at the Chief Minister's residence.
According to the information, the process of selecting names is being carefully considered to ensure a balance between regional representation and caste considerations. However, as per media reports, these four names--- Gauri Shankar Bisen, Rajendra Shukla, Union Minister Prahlad Patel’s brother Jalam Patel and former CM Uma Bharti’s nephew Rahul Lodhi-- are going round the corner for induction into the cabinet.
The buzz of Cabinet expansion gave fuel to the fire after CM Chouhan met Governor Mangubhai Patel late on Tuesday evening. MP Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in or before November 2023.
Chouhan may attempt to strike caste and regional balance ahead of elections, said sources. Also, MLAs from Bundelkhand, Vindhya and the Central state region may be included in the Cabinet. Currently, the Madhya Pradesh government has 23 Cabinet ministers and 7 state ministers.
Madhya Pradesh Cabinet expanded in 2021
The last time the Chouhand Cabinet was expanded on January 2, 2021, with the induction of two loyalists of BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose exit from the Congress in March 2020. Scindia's switching sides from Congress to BJP triggered the fall of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath-led government in MP.
Meanwhile, BJP is eying winning the election to retain power. On the other hand, Kamal Nath-led Congress is expecting a repeat of the last election performance. Congress in assembly elections 2018 defeated to then ruling BJP government. However, Scindia deserted Congress which led to the collapse of Congress's government in 2020.
First list of 39 candidates released
Assembly elections are going to be held in the state this year. Consequently, the changes in the cabinet hold significant importance. Efforts are being made to accommodate various alignments ahead of the elections.
The ruling BJP has already announced its initial list of 39 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections. The election schedule has not been declared yet. Home Minister Amit Shah has set a goal of winning more than 150 out of the total 230 seats in the state. In the 2018 elections, the BJP won 109 seats, which fell short of the simple majority of 116.
BJP will get clear majority: Scindia
Recently, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia claimed that the BJP and his alliance will secure a clear majority in the upcoming state legislative assembly elections. However, Scindia refrained from making a specific estimation of the number of seats the BJP would win out of the 230-member state legislative assembly elections scheduled at the end of the year. Scindia, who joined the BJP in March 2020 after leaving the Congress, made these comments during his journey through the Gwalior-Chambal region. He stated, "I am not an astrologer to predict how many seats BJP will win. But we will form a government with a full majority in the state." The Gwalior-Chambal region consists of 34 legislative assembly constituencies.
