Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan expands Cabinet; three more ministers included Bhopal: Ahead of the year-end Assembly election in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday expanded his cabinet with three more ministers taking oath. The oath-taking ceremony took place at around 8:45 AM at Raj Bhavan here.
MLA from Balaghat constituency Gaurishankar Bisen, MLA from Rewa Rajendra Shukla and MLA from Khargapur constituency Rahul Lodhi were sworn in as ministers by Governor Mangubhai Patel in the Madhya Pradesh cabinet in the presence of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
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Many veteran leaders including state BJP President VD Sharma were present on this occasion. After taking the oath, Rahul Lodhi was seen touching the feet of the CM. The newly sworn-in minister Gaurishankar Bisen has been elected as MLA for the 7th time from Balaghat. Rajendra Shukla has been elected as a legislator four times from the Rewa constituency while Rahul Singh Lodhi is a one-time MLA.
He won the election from Khargapur assembly constituency in 2018. Rahul is the nephew of former Chief Minister Uma Bharti. The Cabinet expansion by incumbent CM Chouhan comes a few months ahead of the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh which are scheduled to be held towards the end of this year.
With the Cabinet expansion, the Madhya Pradesh BJP is hoping to strengthen its position with the introduction of new faces in the Cabinet. The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh faces an anti-incumbency factor in the Assembly polls with the opposition Congress accusing the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government of involvement in "large-scale corruption".
