C'garh: Sai Expands His Cabinet, Inducts 3 First-Time MLAs in Ministry
The chief minister has affected a minor reshuffle of portfolios in his ministry to distribute portfolios to the new ministers.
Raipur: In the maiden expansion of his cabinet after he assumed the office in December 2023, Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday inducted three first-time MLAs in his ministry.
With this, the size of the Sai ministry has increased to 14.
Mr. Sai sought to maintain a balance of caste and regional equations while expanding his ministry by choosing to take a member each from the scheduled caste, other backward class (OBC) and general category.
The three new ministers are Gajendra Yadav who is from OBC, Guru Khuswant Saheb who belongs to Satnami community coming under scheduled caste category, and Rajesh Agrawal, who is from general category.
Besides, Mr. Agrawal also hailed from north Chhattisgarh region of Surguja, which is considered politically significant.
Surguja region comprises 14 out of total 90 Assembly constituencies in the state.
Mr. Agrawal had also proved a giant killer in the 2023 Assembly elections by defeating veteran Congress leader and former deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo by 94 votes in Ambikapur seat.
He was once considered a close aide of Mr. Singh Deo and had crossed over to BJP from Congress a few weeks before the November 2023 Assembly elections in the state.
Similarly, Mr. Yadav who was groomed in RSS culture had defeated veteran Congress leader and former minister Arun Vora, son of former chief minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh, late Motilal Vora.
Mr. Saheb on the other hand has considerable influence over the Satnami community, who constitutes around 12 percent of the state population, as the son of Baldas, the religious head of the race.
Chhattisgarh governor Ramen Deka administered the oath of office and secrecy to the three new ministers at a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhavan here.
The chief minister has affected a minor reshuffle of portfolios in his ministry to distribute portfolios to the new ministers.
Significantly, the ministry expansion has further strengthened the belief that the decision by the party leadership to promote the second line leaders, is irreversible, by overlooking claims of frontline leaders such as Amar Agrawal, Ajey Chandrakar, Vikram Usendi and Rajesh Mrunat in the ministry expansion.
A fortnight ago, the party leadership recast the state executive body of the BJP by appointing second line leaders in various party posts.
