Four MLAs likely to be inducted in Madhya Pradesh cabinet

The Madhya Pradesh assembly elections are set to be set held in November-December, along with those in Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram

Updated on: Aug 24, 2023, 24:32:40 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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Bhopal Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely include four ministers into his cabinet with an aim to balance caste and regional equations in the council ahead of the assembly elections later this year, according to two people aware of the matter.

On Tuesday, Shivraj Singh Chouhan met governor Mangubhai Patel, and the cabinet expansion was a part of the discussions, said a BJP leader (Raj K Raj/HT)

The Madhya Pradesh council of ministers can have 35 ministers, including the chief minister, and four berths are vacant at the moment. On Tuesday, Chouhan met governor Mangubhai Patel, and the cabinet expansion was a part of the discussions, said a BJP leader who asked not to be named.

The leader said that four BJP MLAs are likely to get place in the cabinet, with the names of former ministers Gauri Shankar Bisen from Balaghat and Rajendra Shukla from Rewa, and Union culture and mines minister Prahlad Patel’s brother Jalam Patel (MLA from Narsinghpur) and former chief minister Uma Bharti’s nephew Rahul Lodhi (Khargapur MLA) doing the rounds.

The Madhya Pradesh assembly elections are set to be set held in November-December, along with those in Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. The model code of conduct, during which period there is a ban on any major policy decisions or administrative changes, is likely to come into force by mid-October.

A second senior BJP leader, who asked not to named, said: “Jalam Patel is likely being included to appease the Dhakad community, which is a dominating community especially in Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand and Vindhya regions.” The BJP wants to counter the Congress outreach to Patel community after Congress MLA Kamleshwar Patel from Sidhi was included the Congress Working Committee earlier this week, the leader added.

The party is also trying to woo the backward Lodhi community, which makes up about 9% of Madhya Pradesh and has political sway in 65 assembly seats, and may therefore include Rahul Lodhi. The 40-year-oldis a nephew of Uma Bharti, and the party wants to end speculation about differences with Bharti, who has been attacking the state government on different issues in recent months, the second leader said.

On Sunday, Union home minister Amit Shah took Uma Bharti’s name while releasing the 20-year report card of BJP-led state government, indicating that the party was attempting to placate her.

The Madhya Pradesh cabinet currently has 10 ministers from Other Backward Classes (OBC), 13 from the general category, and four each from the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities.

Reacting on a possible cabinet expansion, BJP state president Vishnudutt Sharma said: “Cabinet expansion is the prerogative of our honourable chief minister. He can decide on this at any time. If a decision is being taken, it will come out soon.”

The Congress, on its part, said the BJP was trying to woo “not just voters but also their own leaders”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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