The date for much-awaited ministry expansion has yet to be fixed. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan returned from Delhi on Tuesday.
According to sources in the party, the central leadership has decided to keep some old hands out of the state cabinet.
In charge governor of MP Anandiben Patel may reach Bhopal at noon on Wednesday. After a day or two of her arrival, the ministry may be expanded.
In an interaction with journalists in the BJP office, Chouhan said the ministry would be expanded in two or three days.
After returning from Delhi, Chouhan reached the party office and held talks with state president VD Sharma and organisation secretary Suhas Bhagat.
A list of probable candidates for cabinet berths has been prepared during the discussion, and a date for the cabinet expansion would be announced only after the central leadership’s nod to the list.
Those who were ministers in the Shivraj cabinet till the assembly elections in 2018, Gopal Bhargava, Bhupendra Singh, Rampal Singh, Yashodhara Raje Scindia, Vijay Shah, Gourishanker Bisen, Paras Jain, Surendra Patwa, Sanjay Pathak, Vishwash Sarang and Jalam Singh, are aspiring for cabinet berths.
State and central leadership of the party do want that a few of them should be kept out of the cabinet this time and some fresh candidates should be inducted.
The fresh candidates who may be given a chance are Yashpal Singh Sisodia, Chaitanya Kashyap, Vishnu Khatri, Ramesh Mendola, Ramlallu Vaish, Girish gautam, Mohan Yadav, Usha Thakur, Vijaypal Singh and Pradeep Laria.
The names of some former ministers like Ajay Vishnoi, Harishanker Khatik, Dev Singh Sayam and Jagdish Devda are also being considered for ministerial berths.
Centre leaves it to state unit
The BJP’s central leadership has told Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the state unit to work on the names of ministers. The central leaders have given some names to the state unit and said the state unit has to take a decision on the names of leaders to be made ministers on the grounds of caste equation and keeping in view the ensuing by-elections.
