Bhopal: Twenty-eight BJP MLAs, including senior leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya, Prahlad Singh Patel and Rakesh Singh, took oath as Madhya Pradesh ministers in the first expansion of the Mohan Yadav cabinet Monday.
But the BJP, which won the assembly polls by a landslide, left several members of MP’s old guard off the list. Of the 33 ministers in the previous Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, 12 lost in the elections, two did not get tickets and 19 emerged victorious. But only six — Inder Parmar, Vijay Shah and Vishwas Sarang, along with Tulsiram Silawat, Govind Singh Rajput and Praduman Singh Tomar (who are considered to be from the Jyotiraditya Scindia camp) — made it to the new cabinet.
While 18 MLAs took oath as Cabinet ministers, six were sworn in as ministers of state with independent charge and four as ministers of state.
Of the 18 Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists fielded by the BJP, 10 had won while eight others lost. Rajput, Tomar and Silawat were made ministers Monday.
Eidal Singh Kansana, who was also amongst the 22 Congress rebels who defected to BJP in 2020 but was not a Scindia loyalist, was also made a minister. Kansana lost the bypolls in 2020, but was given a ticket again this year.
राजभवन, भोपाल में आयोजित मध्यप्रदेश की नवनिर्वाचित सरकार के मंत्रिमंडल का शपथ ग्रहण समारोह https://t.co/mh97KQNytP
— Dr Mohan Yadav (@DrMohanYadav51) December 25, 2023
The BJP had fielded seven Lok Sabha MPs and barring Faggan Singh Kulaste and Ganesh Singh, the rest won. Of the five MPs who won, Prahlad Patel, Rakesh Singh and Uday Pratap Singh were made ministers whereas Riti Pathak was dropped and former Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar was made the speaker in the assembly.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was the first to take oath at the Raj Bhavan, followed by Prahlad Patel, Rakesh Singh, Karan Singh and Uday Pratap Singh.
Narendra Shivraj Patel, Sampatiya Uikey, Nirmala Bhuriya, Narag Singh Chouhan, Chetan Kashyap, Dharmendra Lodhi, Dilip Jaiswal, Gautam Tetwal, Lakhan Patel, Narayan Pawar, Radha Singh, Pratima Bagri and Krishna Gaur are among 13 first-time ministers.
Chetan Kashyap, the cabinet minister elected from Ratlam, is the richest MLA in Madhya Pradesh with an annual income of Rs 296 crore, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Prominent among senior BJP ministers from Shivraj years not to get a place in the cabinet is nine-time MLA and senior most member of the house, Gopal Bhargav. Bhupendra Singh, considered a close aide of Chouhan who once held Home Department and was sitting Minister for Urban Development and Housing, did not make it to the cabinet either.
A senior BJP leader explained that names of senior BJP leaders such as Bhupendra Singh were dropped from the list considering that several complaints were received against them.
Another BJP insider said the party did not include most of ministers of the Shivraj Cabinet in the new ministry for ushering in a generational change. Several of them were ministers for last 15 years, the insider added.
Senior ministers such as Usha Thakur (culture and tourism), Om Prakash Saklecha (MSME along with Science and Technology), Brijendra Pratap Singh (Mining), Prem Singh Patel Minister (Animal Husbandry and Social Justice and Welfare) were also dropped this time.
“The cabinet expansion has been made following the Prime Minister’s vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Vikas,” BJP state president V.D. Sharma told The Print.
Sharma explained through a detailed process, the new cabinet has been decided which has representation of at least 15 different sub-caste of the OBC community, three different tribal communities and two from Scheduled Castes.
“This is the new cabinet, filled with new vigor and enthusiasm to take the state to great heights. It has been done keeping in mind the social balance ensuring representation for all,” he added.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia flew down from Delhi to Bhopal for the cabinet expansion and he was welcomed by CM Mohan Yadav at the airport.
सभी को बधाई, जनता की सेवा का नया इतिहास रचेंगे
आज मध्यप्रदेश सरकार में कैबिनेट मंत्री, स्वतंत्र प्रभार और राज्य मंत्री के रूप में शपथ ले रहे सभी मित्रों को हृदय से बधाई देता हूँ!
मुझे विश्वास है कि आप सभी अपनी संपूर्ण सामर्थ्य के साथ, पूरी निष्ठा और लगन से जनता की सेवा तथा… pic.twitter.com/GjSQ7rn5UG
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) December 25, 2023
Chouhan, his successor Yadav and other senior BJP leaders took to social media congratulating the newly formed cabinet. “I heartily congratulate all friends who are taking oath.. I am confident that all of you will create a new history of service to the public and progress of the state with all your strength, complete devotion and dedication,” the former chief minister said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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