BSP, SP kept out of Kamal Nath cabinet

In what appears a foreshadow of the Mahagathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has excluded two BSP and one SP MLA from his 28-member cabinet, sworn in on Tuesday.

The exclusion assumes significance in the backdrop of speculation that BSP supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav are not inclined to accommodate the Congress in the pre-poll alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The BSP and SP had announced unilateral support to the Congress government, which fell short of majority by two seats in the just-concluded assembly election. The Congress won 114 seats in the 230-strong assembly. The ruling party co-opted three independent MLAs to cobble together a majority of 117 seats.

Although the Congress accepted BSP and SP support, the chief minister has kept the two parties out of his cabinet in its first expansion. 

Twenty-eight MLAs were sworn-in as cabinet ministers by Governor Anandi Ben Patel at a function at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday. The new team includes two women, one Muslim and one independent. None of the 55 first–time MLAs have been given a berth in the ministry, while 15 MLAs have become ministers for the first time.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath took oath of office alone, on December 17.

Vital statistics 

Among the ministers, 10 are from Kamal Nath camp and seven are known to be Digvijay Singh loyalists. Seven Jyotiraditya Scindia supporters have also found berths in the cabinet and two are known to be non-aligned.  

Kamal Nath at 72 is the oldest and Digvijay Singh’s son Jaivardhan Singh, 32, is the youngest. The average age of the cabinet is 53 years. Two ministers are below 40 and nine are above 60 years.

Asset-wise, the chief minister is the richest with property worth Rs 206 crore declared in his affidavit. The total wealth of the 28 ministers minus the chief minister is Rs 220 crore. Of them, nine are postgraduates, 13 graduates, 5 class 12 pass and one engineering diploma holder. 

Maiden session of the new assembly is slated from January 7.