By IANS
Bhopal : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expanded his cabinet here Saturday, inducting six new ministers and promoting two others to cabinet rank.
Governor Balram Jakhar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers in the presence of the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues at a function in Raj Bhawan.
While two ministers of state, Nagendra Singh and Laxmikant Sharma, were elevated to cabinet rank, the six new faces include three cabinet ministers and three ministers of state.
The new cabinet ministers are Gaurishankar Shejwar, Laxman Singh Gaud and Akhand Pratap Singh. The three new ministers of state are Karan Singh Verma, Ranjana Baghel and Harinder Singh Babbu.
The induction of Shejwar and Gaud, who parted ways with Uma Bharti, is an attempt to counter the Bhartiya Janshakti Party’s impact in the next assembly elections, political observers here said.
Chouhan, however told reporters soon after the swearing-in that “efforts have been made to give representation to all the nine divisions of the state in the expansion of the cabinet.”
Chouhan, state BJP president Narendra Singh Tomar and other senior leaders reached a consensus on the new faces to be inducted in the cabinet late on Friday.
National BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar reached here Friday evening and held a meeting with Chouhan, Tomar and state BJP organisational general secretary Makhan Singh. The meeting continued till late in the night.