2 min readNew DelhiDec 26, 2023 01:49 AM IST
First published on: Dec 25, 2023 at 04:33 PM IST
TWELVE days after Mohan Yadav was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh along with two deputies, he got a ministry on Monday. Among the 25 inductees were senior leaders Prahlad Patel and Kailash Vijayvargiya.
The shortlisting followed multiple consultations with the central leadership, and the new ministry has 18 Cabinet members, including Patel, Vijayvargiya, Nirmala Bhuria, Narayan Singh Kushwaha, Nagar Singh Chouhan, Uday Pratap Singh, Lakhan Patel, Kuwar Vijay Shah, Rakesh Singh, Karan Singh Verma, Sampatiya Uikey and Pradyumna Singh Tomar; as well as six ministers of state (MoS) (Independent charge) and four MoS. Of the 25 included as ministers Monday, as many as 11 are OBCs, apart from six SCs, four STs and remaining belonging to upper castes.
See the full list of ministers in Madhya Pradesh cabinet here.
CM Yadav is also an OBC. Three are Scindia supporters – Tulsi Silavat, Govind Singh Rajput and Pradyuman Singh Tomar. Incidentally, in the previous Shivraj Singh Chouhan Cabinet, there were 10 Scindia loyalists. There are five women ministers. Madhya Pradesh can have a 35-member ministry, meaning there are seven more slots that could be filled later.
Of the seven MPs fielded by the BJP in the Assembly polls, Faggan Singh Kulaste and MP Ganesh Singh had lost. Of the five who won, four have been included as ministers, with only Reeti Pathak not making it. Of the 33 ministers in the Chouhan Cabinet, 31 had contested the Assembly polls, and 19 won. The nine who have been repeated include CM Mohan Yadav and Deputy CMs Rajendra Shukla and Jagadish Devda.
Gwalior-Chambal and Bundelkhand regions each have four ministers, while three are from Vindhya region. The OBC thrust in the new ministry underlines the BJP strategy of buffering its base against the Opposition’s demand for a caste census. It will dent the Congress assault against the BJP over sidelining of its former CM Chouhan, still the party’s tallest OBC leader in the state.
After the oath-taking ceremony for the new ministers, CM Yadav said, “…Those who work must be given an opportunity. I feel happy that under Modi, the new Cabinet will make new records.”
Ahead of the expansion, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had said that the new cabinet will work for the state’s betterment. 
Share
