In the first expansion of the Chief Minister Mohan Yadav-led Cabinet, 28 Bharatiya Janata Party leaders took oath as ministers in the Madhya Pradesh government on Monday, reported The Indian Express.
Of the total, 18 MLAs, including senior BJP leaders Prahlad Singh Patel, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Rakesh Singh, took oath as Cabinet ministers. Six MLAs were sworn in as ministers of state with independent charge and four as ministers of state.
Eleven of the new ministers are from the Other Backward Classes category, reported NDTV.
The maximum strength of the Cabinet in the state, with 235 MLAs, can be 35, including the chief minister.
The BJP emerged victorious in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections on December 3, winning 163 of 230 seats. The BJP had contested the polls without a chief ministerial face, although speculation was rife that party leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan was eyeing a fifth term. Eventually, the reins were handed over to Yadav, the higher education minister in the previous government headed by Chouhan.
The Cabinet expansion comes 12 days after Yadav took oath as Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister.
Before inducting the new ministers, the chief minister said that the new Cabinet will work for the state’s betterment under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders, reported PTI.
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