Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Expands His Council of Ministers,Inducts Three New Members
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expanded his cabinet and inducted three new members . The three new members are Narayan Singh Kushwah, Jalam Singh Patel and Balkrishna Patidar. Narayan Singh Kushwah took oath as a Cabinet Minister while Jalam Singh and Balkrishna Patidar took oath as a Minister of State.
Bhopal, February 3: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expanded his cabinet and inducted three new members . The three new members are Narayan Singh Kushwah, Jalam Singh Patel and Balkrishna Patidar. Narayan Singh Kushwah took oath as a Cabinet Minister while Jalam Singh and Balkrishna Patidar took oath as a Minister of State. The much awaited cabinet expansion has taken place early in the year in the poll bound state. Madhya Pradesh will have assembly elections in the year end.
The Chouhan-led government, in its third term, has 20 cabinet ministers including the chief minister and nine ministers of state since December 2013. The state can have a maximum of 35 ministers as per the Constitutional provisions.
It is to be noted that the state Congress had submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission and written a letter to the Governor saying that the BJP government can not carry out a cabinet expansion, as the model code of conduct is in force ahead of February 24 Assembly by-polls in Mungaoli and Kolaras.
In the memorandum to the EC, state Congress president Arun Yadav demanded that the proposed cabinet expansion be postponed till February 28.
In the letter to the governor, Yadav said, "This expansion or reshuffle would be against the Constitutional traditions. The proposed cabinet expansion, if any, is directly or indirectly a way to influence the electorate." Chief Electoral Officer of Madhya Pradesh Salina Singh said she has forwarded the memorandum to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
However, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has gone ahead with the cabinet expansion and inducted the three faces. Balkrishna Patidar, senior Patidar leader, is also a member of MP Krishi Upaj Mandi and MLA from Khargone, Narayan Singh Kushwah, former MoS and MLA from Gwalior South and Jalim Singh Patel (aka Munna Bhaiyya) is a senior OBC leader and MLA from Narsinghpur. The cabinet reshuffle and the induction of these faces is seen as a caste- balancing act by many in the poll bound state. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has expressed happiness at the cabinet expansion and has also ensured that "another small one(expansion) will also be done."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2018 11:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).