Madhya Pradesh: Five ministers take oath in first expansion

Amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, five legislators were sworn-in as ministers in the Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday (April 21).

Three present and two former legislators took oath in the first expansion of the council of ministers in the state.

Madhya Pradesh: BJP leaders Narottam Mishra, Kamal Patel, Meena Singh, Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput took oath as ministers, at the state cabinet expansion ceremony in Bhopal today. pic.twitter.com/RBEJk449Bk

— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2020

They were sworn in by Governor Lalji Tandon at a simple function in the Raj Bhawan. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was present at the ceremony.

The state was without a cabinet since a month owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chouhan was sworn in CM on March 23 to head the BJP-led government in the state.

Among the new entrants, two ex-MLAs Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput are supporters of former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who with 22 MLAs, including six ministers, quit Congress last month to join BJP.

Former BJP ministers Narottam Mishra, Meena Singh and Kamal Patel were also inducted in the cabinet in Tuesday’s expansion.