MP: Hope For Cabinet Berths For BJP Leaders Ends After Rawat's Induction Into Cabinet

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Chances of the BJP leaders getting cabinet berths have become slim after former Congress legislator Ramniwas Rawat who switched over to the BJP before the Lok Sabha election and joined the cabinet on Monday.

Now that Rawat has taken oath as a minister, the number of ministers, including Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, has become 32. There are only two vacancies in the cabinet.

Against this backdrop, there are hardly any chances for the senior leader of the BJP to join the cabinet.

During the Lok Sabha election, the BJP assured many senior leaders of the party that they would be given a chance in the cabinet expansion.

Because of the outsiders, the hopes of the BJP leaders getting a berth in the cabinet were shattered.

Apart from Rawat, Govind Singh Rajput, Tulsi Silawat, Pradhuman Singh Tomar and Aidal Singh Kansa, who have been given cabinet berths, have come from the Congress.

Among the senior leaders of the BJP, like Gopal Bhargava, Bhupendra Singh, Ajay Vishnoi, Jayant Malaiya, Brajendra Pratap Singh, Nagendra Singh, Girish Gautam, Sitasharan Sharma, Jaisingh Marawi, Harishankar Khatik, Omprakash Dhurve, Surendra Patwa, Archana Chitnis, Usha Thakur, Neena Verma, Hemand Khandalwal and Omprakash Saklecha will not get a chance in the cabinet.

A few of them may get a chance if some ministers are removed from the cabinet.

There is resentment among some BJP leaders against Rawatís induction into the cabinet.

A senior leader of the BJP said that he would put up the issue at the party forum.

Deal with Rawat completes, fate of Shah, Sapre unknown

The deal that the BJP entered into with Ramniwas Rawat before the Lok Sabha election completed after he was inducted into the cabinet. Rawat resigned from the House membership. By-election will be held in Vijaypur from where Rawat was elected as an MLA.

Nevertheless, the BJP has yet to speak about the deal between party candidate from Amarwara Kamlesh Shah and the organisation. If there was a deal for making Shah a minister and if he wins the by-election, he may also be inducted into the cabinet.

But it is not yet known what kind of deal took place between Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre and the ruling party.