Shivraj Singh Chouhan likely to expand cabinet with tied hands on Wednesday

Much-awaited expansion of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet is likely on Wednesday amid speculation that the BJP high command has categorically told the chief minister to induct young faces in place of his old acolytes besides six Jyotiraditya Scindia-loyalists whose defection along with 18 other MLAs had led to the fall of the Kamal Nath government in March this year.

Powerful minister Narottam Mishra, who played a key role as Amit Shah’s chief aide in toppling the Congress government, is likely to be elevated as deputy chief minister along with Scindia-loyalist Tulsiram Silawat.

Swearing-in for new ministers was scheduled on June 30 but sudden developments in New Delhi on Monday evening forced the chief minister to defer it.

Since July 1 is the last day considered auspicious before the gods believed to go for sleep for four months according to Hindu mythology, the BJP is unlikely to defer the proposed cabinet expansion any more.

The cabinet expansion is likely to trigger a wave of dissidence in the BJP as the high command is reported to have nixed the chief minister’s list of probables which he had taken with him to New Delhi on Monday for approval. Chouhan had had talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda. The chief minister also discussed the probable names with Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Till Tuesday afternoon, it looked as though all was well with the chief minister’s wish-list which he had prepared after marathon brainstorming for two days with state BJP president VD Sharma and other party leaders in the state.

However, BJP national president suddenly summoned Narottam Mishra for more discussion on the probables. Mishra’s intervention, apparently at the behest of his mentor Amit Shah, completely upset the chief minister’s game-plan.

JP Nadda in the second meeting asked the chief minister to drop names of at least six senior MLAs, who were Shivraj Singh’s ministerial colleagues in the past. Instead, the BJP president told a beleaguered Chouhan to give place to young blood.

The CM tried to bat for seniors but Nadda was firm on change in the list. A visibly downcast Chouhan returned Bhopal on Tuesday morning.

Given the Scindia factor, the chief minister has limited room for maneuvering in the cabinet. His five-member cabinet can accommodate 29 more members. Of these, a dozen slots are already reserved for Scindia –loyalists and four other MLAs who had quit the Congress to join the BJP.

Most of the probable faces recommended by the high command are not liked by the chief minister. In the first cabinet expansion that took place in April, the chief minister had to accommodate his known adversaries such as Kamal Patel, Mina Singh, and Narottam Mishra apart from two Scindia supports Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput.