Mohan Yadav Set To Expand Madhya Pradesh Cabinet With 28 Ministers In Major BJP Reshuffle

In a significant move following the recent generational shift in the leadership of Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav was poised to expand his council of ministers on Monday, with approximately 28 ministers expected to take the oath. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had recently appointed Yadav as the state's top elected official, bringing about a change in leadership.

A BJP official, speaking anonymously, revealed that the new Cabinet under Yadav's leadership would include both fresh faces and seasoned leaders, including Members of Parliament who successfully contested the state assembly elections. Some ministers from the previous government were also likely to be part of the expansion.

Yadav submitted the list of ministers to be inducted to Governor Mangubhai Patel in preparation for the swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for 3:30 pm. The BJP secured a resounding victory in Madhya Pradesh this month, winning 163 out of 230 seats, while the Congress secured 66 seats.

Yadav, aged 58, and his deputies, Jagdish Deoda and Rajendra Shukla, were sworn in on December 13. The three-time lawmaker assumed the role of chief minister, succeeding Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who had governed the central Indian state for 16 of the last 18 years over four terms.

Yadav, known for his firm adherence to hardline Hindu politics, made headlines recently by expressing his commitment to shift the Prime Meridian from Greenwich (England) to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. He stated in the state assembly that his government would demonstrate that Ujjain is the global Prime Meridian, emphasizing a desire to "correct the time of the world" based on an ancient Hindu astronomical belief. Yadav attributed the perceived decline in the world to Westernization and pledged collaboration with scientific minds to address this perceived issue.