MP Cabinet expansion: Shivraj Singh Chouhan braces to swallow 'poison'

Ongoing political crisis in the BJP appears deepening with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan admitting, rather philosophically, that “ Shiv” is destined to swallow the “poison” while announcing that his cabinet expansion will take place on July 2.

The much-deferred cabinet expansion has raised a political storm as the BJP high command is reportedly averse to let the chief minister induct his old loyalists. Jyotiraditya Scindia's insistence on taking at least 8 of his supporters in the proposed expansion has only added to a beleaguered Chouhan’s woes. If the chief minister accommodates Scindia supporters and four other defectors, who quit the Congress in March, he will be left with barely 15 slots to adjust other BJP aspirants. The five-member cabinet has 29 more berths left for fresh faces and the number of aspirants is around 50.

“Whenever there is a churning, ambrosia emerges. The ambrosia gets distributed but poison is left for Shiv to swallow”, quipped the chief minister when media men asked about reported tug-of-war in the BJP over cabinet expansion on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Chouhan tweeted an Urdu couplet which may be roughly translated in English to mean that “ You came posing as sympathiser but turned out to be a bandit. And your banditry every moment has left wounds on the heart as your memories.

The cryptic Urdu couplet has left political observers wondering whether the chief minister had tweeted it to target the BJP high command or Jyotiraditya Scindia or his powerful detractors within the party.

Even as the BJP high command appears unyielding on its stand that the chief minister gives chance to fresh faces rather than relying on his old teammates of previous cabinets, hectic churning is still going on to strike a balance between the leadership’s demand and the chief minister’s wish-list.

BJP national vice president and MP in-charge Vinay Sahastrabuddhe is mediating between Chouhan-loyalist senior MLAs and the high command.

If comprise is struck, the oath-taking ceremony is likely to take oath on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandi Ben Patel will administer the oath to the new ministers in place of her MP counterpart Lalji Tandon who is recuperating in Lucknow after he fell ill two weeks ago.