Thus he may appear to be less powerful Chief Minister. Another distinctive feature of the ministry is the inclusion of large number of non-legislators. Most of them belong to Scindia group. Unless elected in the by-poll their term will last only for six months. According to the Constitution a non-legislator can hold ministerial assignment only for six months. If not elected he ceases to be minister after the expiry of six month period.

The Jyotiraditya Scindia impact was clear in the cabinet expansion. The newly elected BJP Rajya Sabha MP thundered, “Tiger Zinda Hai”. These are the exact words Chouhan had uttered on December 20, 2018 after losing the assembly polls. He asserted that the Congress government would not last out it full term.

Former Congress MLAs who propelled BJP back to power now make up 41% of the Shivraj cabinet. As many as 14 of the 22 (64%) Congress MLAs who broke away from Congress with Scindia in March, toppling the Kamal Nath government have been included in the ministry ahead of the make or break by-polls. In contrast only about 19% of BJP’s 107 MLAs have made it to the ministry.

Though several heavyweights have been left out the most disappointed leader is Kailash Vijayvargiya, who could not manage to get a single berth in the new ministry. He hails from Indore and is regarded as a powerful leader of the city. Despite holding the post of party general secretary and playing key role in West Bengal he was left high and dry. In addition to not getting a single berth he was further let down when Usha Thakur, belonging to rival faction was made minister. It is reported that she was backed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Former CM Uma Bharati tweeted that she had conveyed to party leaders to “strike a social equation in the cabinet expansion”.

Disappointment in Vijayvargiya camp was so intense that one of his followers tried to set himself on fire. Besides this among those who got left out on Thursday were six of the old guard who had been with Chouhan in his earlier cabinets. This brought into focus Shivraj’s cryptic remark of the previous day that whenever there is churn (manthan) nectar is created “but Shiv has to drink the poison”.

Seven former Shivraj cabinet colleagues have been re-inducted and nine are new faces. There are 8 ministers of state in Chouhan’s team of 34. There is only one vacant slot left. Departments are yet to be allocated.

Interestingly there is still no word on whether there will be two deputy chef ministers – Narottam Mishra and Scindia aide Tulsiram Silwat were widely expected to be named.

CM Chouhan urged everyone to “work as team” especially with the Covid-19 crisis still on. “Our only aim is the welfare of people and development of the state” the CM tweeted.

The other important feature of the ministry is that 10 new ministers have criminal record. And 21 of the new ministers are crorepatis – with declared assets of Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 8 crore.

Also, while there are 24 graduates and above – including a doctor, an engineer, a PhD and an MBA- the new Shivraj cabinet has four ministers who have listed high school, ‘primary’ as their education level in their affidavit.

The report by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) is based on an analysis of affidavits filed by the ministers with the Election Commission of India ahead of contesting election.

On top of the list with maximum number of pending cases is Pradhuman Singh Tomar (Gwalior) with 20 cases. He is followed by Giriraj Dandotia (Dimni, Morena) with five cases.

The ministry includes four women, one of them Imarti Devi who belongs to Scindia group. She was also cabinet minister in Kamal Nat cabinet.

Most of the ministers have been chosen with the by-polls in mind, Because of this many regions including Mahakaosal have been totally left out.

As for representation of minorities is concerned one Sikh and one Jain have been included. As usual there is no Muslim in the ministry.

Commenting on the cabinet expansion state Congress president Kamal Nath tweeted “I congratulate and send my good wishes to all new ministers on the formation of the state cabinet and hope that everyone will work together for the development of the state”.

In another tweet, Kamal Nath said, “I am personally saddened not being able to find the names of many worthy, experienced and dedicated senior BJP MLAs. In the history of the democracy, Madhya Pradesh cabinet is one in which out of 33 ministers, 14 are presently not MLAs. This is a major intrusion with constitutional provisions and a prank played on the people of the state”.

Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha uploaded a video on his twitter account in which he said that he congratulates the ministers sworn in since he knows many of them, but cannot give his best wishes because the government has been formed unethically. He said it is not an elected government but a manufactured government.” (IPA Service)