Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan greets predecessor Kamal Nath at his swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhawan on March 23. (PTI/File)

Ending days of speculation, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is set to expand his cabinet on Thursday, more than 100 days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed government in the state.

Chouhan’s cabinet will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, who will take oath as Madhya Pradesh governor today.

Current governor Lalji Tandon is under treatment at a private hospital in Lucknow for the past few days.

Chouhan, who took oath as CM on March 23, worked alone for nearly a month before he expanded his cabinet by inducting five members, including two loyalists of Jyotiraditya Scindia whose rebellion brought down the Kamal Nath government on March 20.

The truncated cabinet worked for nearly two months amid speculation over imminent expansion. However, given that the BJP had to do a tight rope walk to accommodate senior leaders who were ministers in the past and Scindia loyalists who will face bye-elections soon, the expansion did not take place.

Chouhan returned to Bhopal on Tuesday after spending two days in Delhi to finalise the names of contenders but the exercise was fraught with disagreements.

“Samudra manthan se amrit nikalta hai aur Shiv vish pe jaate hai,” Chouhan said on Wednesday indicating that the exercise in Delhi had left him at the receiving end. Health Minister Narottam Mishra, who had suddenly rushed to Delhi, is yet to return to MP.