Two Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists return as ministers in third expansion of Madhya Pradesh Cabinet

Bhopal: The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh Cabinet was expanded on Sunday with the induction of two loyalists of BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose exit from the Congress in March last year led to the fall of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath-led Congress dispensation in the state. Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office to Tulsiram Silawat and Govind Rajput. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Protem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma and several ministers of the state Cabinet were present during the brief ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan. This is the third expansion of the state Cabinet ever since Chouhan took over as the chief minister for the fourth term in March 2020 after the collapse of the Congress government. Silawat and Rajput had been inducted into the Cabinet in April last year during its first expansion. However, they had to step down in October as they were not members of the state legislature because the coronavirus pandemic delayed the by-polls. There is a mandatory provision that a non-MLA, who is inducted in the cabinet, should get elected to the State Assembly within six months. The second expansion of Chouhan’s cabinet took place on 2 July last year with the induction of 28 ministers, including a dozen loyalists of Jyotiraditya Scindia. The first expansion was held on 21 April last year wherein five ministers, including Silawat and Rajput, were inducted. Silawat and Rajput were among the Congress MLAs who had resigned and joined the BJP with Scindia in March last year. In the Assembly by-polls held on 3 November, the BJP had won 19 of the 28 seats, while the Opposition Congress had bagged nine. Silawat and Rajput won from Sanver and Surkhi respectively in the by-poll.