MP cabinet expansion: 28 new ministers, including 11 OBCs, inducted
What's the story
As many as 28 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including bigwigs like Kailash Vijayvargiya and Prahlad Singh Patel, took oath on Monday as part of the cabinet expansion in Madhya Pradesh.
While 18 were appointed cabinet-rank ministers, six were made ministers of state (independent charge), and four took oath as ministers of state.
Of them, 11 ministers belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, five are from the Scheduled Castes (SC), and three are from the Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Context
Why does this story matter?
The cabinet expansion comes nearly two weeks after Mohan Yadav, a three-time MLA, was named the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh by the BJP.
During Yadav's swearing-in ceremony on December 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President JP Nadda, and Union Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah were all present.
Along with Yadav, Governor Mangubhai Patel administered the oath of office to deputy chief ministers Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla.
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What CM Yadav on state cabinet expansion
On Monday, newly appointed CM Yadav's office took to X to inform that the cabinet's swearing-in ceremony was held at Raj Bhavan in the presence of the Madhya Pradesh governor.
"Governor Patel administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly elected 18 MLAs as Cabinet Ministers, six MLAs as Ministers of State (Independent Charge), and four MLAs as Ministers of State," it added.
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Key leaders part of Yadav's new MP cabinet
BJP MLAs who have been inducted as cabinet-rank ministers include Vijayvargiya, Patel, Vishwas Sarang, Pradhuman Singh Tomar, Tulsi Ram Silawat, Edal Singh Kansana, Narayan Singh Kushwaha, Vijay Shah, and Rakesh Singh.
Moreover, Karan Singh Verma, Sampatiya Uikey, Uday Pratap Singh, Nirmala Bhuria, Govind Singh Rajput, Inder Singh Parmar, Nagar Singh Chauhan, Chaitanya Kashyap, and Rakesh Shukla are among the cabinet ministers.
Twitter Post
Visuals from MP cabinet expansion oath ceremony
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh Cabinet expansion: BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya, Vishwas Sarang and other party MLAs take oath as Madhya Pradesh cabinet ministers in Bhopal
— ANI (@ANI) December 25, 2023
A total of 28 BJP leaders are taking oath as ministers. 18 leaders including Pradhuman Singh Tomar, Prahlad… pic.twitter.com/cvtHJ7ARKn
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Shivraj Singh Chouhan's reaction to MP cabinet expansion
Ahead of Monday's oath ceremony, former state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told ANI, "Today is 'Good Governance Day' and the birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee."
"I have faith that the government that will be formed today is going to work for the development of the state under the leadership of PM Modi and CM Yadav," he added.
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Recalling BJP's thumping assembly poll win in Madhya Pradesh
It is worth recalling that the BJP retained power in Madhya Pradesh, winning the recently concluded state assembly polls with a thumping majority.
The party secured 163 of the 230 seats to remain in power.
On the other hand, the Congress managed to bag just 66 seats, conceding defeat to the BJP.
Other than Madhya Pradesh, the saffron party also registered landslide assembly election wins in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.