Madhya Pradesh: Kamal Nath balances caste, regional equations in cabinet expansion

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has expanded his council of ministers on Tuesday. Nath inducted 28 MLAs, including two women legislators and an Independent, into his Cabinet.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has expanded his council of ministers on Tuesday. Nath inducted 28 MLAs, including two women legislators and an Independent, into his Cabinet. (PTI)

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has expanded his council of ministers on Tuesday. Nath inducted 28 MLAs, including two women legislators and an Independent, into his Cabinet. The new ministers in Madhya Pradesh were administered the of office by Governor Anandiben Patel in the presence of Nath and other senior Congress leaders, who attended the event. All the ministers took oath in Hindi and they were accorded the Cabinet rank. Those who were sworn in included Dr Govind Singh (MLA from Lahar), Arif Aqueel (Bhopal North), Bala Bachchan (Rajpur ST), Sajjan Singh Verma (Sonkutch), Vijay Laxmi Sadho (Maheshawr) and Hukum Singh Karada (Shajapur). Aqueel is lone Muslim MLA in the Cabinet. Govind Singh was a minister in the previous Congress government. Besides, Tulsi Silawat (Sanver) and Prabhuram Chowdhary (Sanchi), both former parliamentary secretaries, were also administered oath. Jaivardhan Singh, the MLA from Raghogarh and son of senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, was also included into the Cabinet. Kasrawad legislator Sachin Yadav, younger brother of former Pradesh Congress Committee chief and ex-Union minister Arun Yadav, was also sworn in. Besides, Vijay Laxmi Sadho (Maheshawr) and Imarati Devi (Dabra) were the women MLAs included in the Cabinet. Sadho was also a minister in the previous Digvijay Singh-led government. Independent MLA Pradeep Jaiswal (Waraseoni), who contested as a Congress rebel, also took oath. Others who got ministerial berths for the first time are: Brijendra Singh Rathore (Prithvipur), Lakhan Singh Yadav (Bhitarwar), Govind Rajput (Surkhi), Omkar Markam (Dindori), Sukhdeo Panse (Multai), Harsh Yadav (Deori), Kamleshwar Patel (Sihawal), Lakhan Ghanghoriya (Jabalpur East), Tarun Bhanot (Jabalpur West), PC Sharma (Bhopal South-West), Surendra Singh Baghel (Kukshi), Jitu Patwari (Rau), Umang Singhar (Gandhwani), Pradyumn Singh Tomar (Gwalior), Mahendra Singh Sisodiya (Bamori) and Priyavrat Singh (Khilchipur). The effort to strike a caste balance by the Congress was apparent in the Cabinet expansion. Kamal Nath's council of ministers now has eight members of the Thakur community, five each from the Other Backward Class (OBC) and Scheduled Castes (SC), five from Scheduled Tribes (ST), three from the Yadav community and two Brahmins. Seeking to balance regional factors, Kamal Nath inducted nine MLAs from the Malwa Nivad region and six from central Madhya Pradesh into his cabinet. Five legislators representing the Gwalior-Chambal region, four from Mahakoshal, three from Bundelkhand and one from Vindhya region were given Cabinet berths. According to sources, the names of the ministers were finalised by state Congress leaders, including Nath, party's campaign committee chairman Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Digvijay Singh, after discussions with party president Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders.