The RSS had the final say in expansion of Shivraj cabinet. After all the process of contemplation and power balancing, MLAs who pulled the right strings with RSS and CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan made their way to cabinet. Even union minister Narendra Singh Tomar managed to send couple of his men in the cabinet.
Gopal Bhargava- One of the senior most BJP MLAs and former leader of Opposition, Bhargava made to cabinet because of his seniority. Bhargava is a consecutive eight times MLA from Rehli in Sagar district.
Jagdish Dewda- represents Malhargarh constituency from Mandsaur district and elected in 1990 for the first time. The BJP organization played important role in Dewda’s inclusion in minister’s list. He was also nominated as protem speaker.
Bhupendra Singh- is a known close confidante of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. It is said that Chouhan had to put in extra effort to bring him in the cabinet.
Yashodhara Raje Scindia- managed to get place in the cabinet because of the seniority and on the basis of past performance.
Vishwas Sarang- was a minister during previous BJP government. Facing tough competition from other MLAs from Bhopal, Vishwas Sarang managed to get ministerial berth because of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Brijendra Pratap Singh- represents Panna constituency and is prominent name when people talk of Thakur lobby. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar batted for him.
Prem Singh Patel- five times MLA from Barwani is now emerging as a strong tribal face in BJP leadership. The tribal factor worked in his favour.
Om Prakash Saklecha- representing Jawad constituency in Neemuch district is close to Vinay Sahasrabudhe and got advantage of his relations in this cabinet expansion.
Usha Thakur- was an obvious choice of the RSS. She presents Indore constituency and is a known fiery speaker.
Arvind Bhadauria- who represents Ater constituency is said to have pulled the strings from the national capital. National leadership of the BJP is said to have batted for him.
Mohan Yadav- MLA from Ujjain got inducted in Shivraj cabinet because of his close affinity with the Sangh cadre. He too is one of the sangh’s favourite.
Bharat Singh Kushwah – who got elected from Gwalior rural is said to be close to union minister Narendra Singh Tomar. His name also gains significance in view of upcoming by-elections.
Inder Singh Parmar- who represents Kalapipal in Shujalpur is one of the favourites of the RSS.
Ram Khilavan Patel- is said to have got advantage of his caste and region. He represents Amarpatan from the vindhya region that remains lowest representation in cabinet.
Ram Kishore Kawre- close to sangh cadre, Kawre got advantage of balancing act. As Bisen was dropped, Kawre got preference as he too comes from Balaghat region, representing Paraswada constituency.
