MP cabinet expansion not happening on Wednesday: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Bhopal, Jun 30: Amid a speculation that the second expansion of the Madhya Pradesh cabinet will take place on Wednesday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday ruled out such possibility without committing exact timeline.

Speculation on July 1 as the day for the much-awaited exercise gained ground in view of Chouhan's meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders in Delhi in the last two days.

"It (expansion of cabinet) will not take place tomorrow (Wednesday). It will happen soon," Chouhan told reporters at the BJP office here. Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel, who has been given the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh in view of incumbent Lalji Tandon's hospitalisation, is yet to take charge. She is likely to reach Bhopal on Wednesday, official sources have said.

The initial 'mini' expansion of the cabinet took place on April 21 with the induction of five ministers, nearly a month after Chouhan took oath as the chief minister for a record fourth term.

The BJP came to power in March after Congress's Kamal Nath resigned as the chief minister, following rebellion by nearly two dozen MLAs of the party. Most of the rebels were considered close to former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress and joined the BJP more than three months ago.

Around 20 to 25 new members, including some former Congress MLAs who had joined the BJP in March, are likely to be inducted into the cabinet, sources in the BJP had said.