Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expanded his one-man ministry on Tuesday, adding five ministers in the middle of the coronavirus lockdown after running the government without a cabinet for nearly a month.
“In view of the Covid-19 crisis, we have decided to keep the cabinet small. It’s small but balanced.... After the lockdown, wide-ranging discussions would be held and the cabinet would be expanded,” Chouhan said.
Madhya Pradesh is among the states worst affected by the pandemic, primarily seen as a result of misplaced priorities of the ruling BJP, focused on gaining power in the state and blaming the spread of the virus on a particular community.
The state reported 70 more cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total number to 1,552. Eighty people have died so far, including four overnight.
The expansion of the cabinet came amid mounting criticism that the chief minister was managing the affairs of the state alone in this time of crisis.
Governor Lalji Tandon administered the oath of office to the five at a simple ceremony. While Tandon, Chouhan and officials present were seen wearing masks, the newly inducted ministers had no masks on.
Three of the five ministers are prominent BJP leaders in the state. The remaining two were former Congress ministers, whose rebellion had led to the recent collapse of the Kamal Nath government.
The two are Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput, considered loyalists of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who too has rebelled and joined the BJP.
Narottam Mishra, Kamal Patel and Meena Singh were the BJP leaders to be inducted.
Chouhan, who had ruled the state for several terms earlier, appears to have very little say in choosing his cabinet. The central leadership is believed to be calling the shots in picking the ministers.
Chouhan, known to be close to the previous leadership of the party led by the now sidelined L.K. Advani, has to do business now with the new regime led by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Another challenge for Chouhan would be to accommodate the remaining 20-odd Congress MLAs whose rebellion led by Scindia had paved the way for his return to power.