Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Credit: PTI Photo
Just three months ahead of the announcement of elections in Madhya Pradesh, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday expanded his cabinet to induct three ministers, including former CM Uma Bharti’s nephew.
The three MLAs are Rajendra Shukla, Gaurishankar Bisen who has served as the chief of the state backward classes commission, and Bharti's nephew Rahul Lodhi. Shukla and Bisen will be Cabinet ministers, while Lodhi will be a minister of state. The expansion has increased the number of ministers from 31 to 34.
Leaders said that the cabinet expansion will help the BJP in balancing the caste equation in the state. Bisen and Shukla are both from the Other Backward Classes community, which account for 45 per cent of the population. Shukla is from the state’s Vindh region, while Bisen is from Mahakoshal region, and Lodhi is from Bundelkhand.
Congress leader Kamal Nath said that the BJP has expanded the Cabinet right when the term is coming to an end.
“The BJP government is singing a welcome song when it is the time for a farewell. It is now sure to lose even if it expands or changes the entire cabinet. This is not a cabinet, it is an extension of the friendship of corruption,” Nath tweeted.