A total of 28 new ministers took oath in July including 12 from Jyotiraditya Scindia's camp -- 20 of Cabinet rank and eight are Ministers of State. Of the 22 Congress MLAs who resigned from the Congress to join the BJP, 14 are now ministers.
Portfolio allocation in Madhya Pradesh cabinet another ordeal for Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Days after being forced to swallow a bitter pill in his second major cabinet expansion three months after returning as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan now needs to do another tightrope walk in the distribution of portfolios. Reports have it that allocation of ministries and Shivraj faces an uphill task to strike a balance by accommodating the ministers of the Jyotiraditya Scindia camp — who form the major chunk of fresh inductees — and his own supporters in the Council of Ministers with meaty portfolios.
The matter remained unresolved till Sunday evening, three days after the Cabinet expansion saw 28 new ministers joining the Council of Ministers, taking the number of ministers to 33.
According to reports, CM Shivraj has been shuttling between Bhopal and Delhi for some time — first for the ministers last week and now for portfolio distribution. Shivraj arrived in the national capital on Sunday and is expected to return on Monday. He could announce the portfolios on Monday evening.
A total of 28 new ministers took oath in July including 12 from Jyotiraditya Scindia’s camp — 20 of Cabinet rank and eight are Ministers of State. Of the 22 Congress MLAs who resigned from the Congress to join the BJP, 14 are now ministers.
According to reports, the new ministers have dug in their heels to bag coveted portfolios while those in charge of more than one portfolio try to retain their favourite ones.
Before last week’s expansion, Shivraj had included five ministers including two from Scindia’s camp. They were — Narottam Mishra (Home and Health); Meena Singh (Tribal Welfare); Kamal Patel (Agriculture department); Tulsi Silawat (Water Resources Department); and Govind Singh Rajput (Food Processing). Shivraj himself handles the Finance portfolio.
Reports say a three-way contest has panned out for key portfolios.
The former Congress leaders who are part of Shivraj’s Cabinet account for 41% of the ministry. Several senior BJP leaders are said to be upset as they wonder why they should be made to sacrifice for the turncoats. Such leaders are paying the heaviest price for the adventure of toppling the Kamal Nath government.
The Scindia camp had been insisting that leaders should be given the charge of departments headed by them in the Kamal Nath government.
Portfolio allocation in Madhya Pradesh cabinet another ordeal for Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
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