BHOPAL: The much awaited Cabinet expansion by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh is likely to take place on Saturday morning. Key sources in the state government told The New Indian Express that at least five new faces are likely to be inducted.
Strong probables include Gwalior South MLA Narayan Singh Kushwah, Balkrishna Patidar from Khargone, Jalam Singh Patel of Narsinghpur, Ramesh Mendola from Indore II, Sudarshan Gupta of Indore I, Jagdish Dewra who represents Malhargarh-Mandsaur, Pradeep Lariya of Naryawali, Yashpal Singh Sisodiya from Mandsaur and Kedar Shukla of Sidhi.
Jalam Singh Patel is the brother of powerful Lodhi leader and Damoh Lok Sabha member Prahlad Patel, while Ramesh Mendola holds the distinction of being the MLA who won the 2013 Assembly polls by maximum 90,000-plus votes from Indore II. Mendola is a confidant of BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.
On the other hand Indore I MLA Sudarshan Gupta is considered close to Lok Sabha speaker and Indore MP Sumitra Mahajan. The Malharhgarh-Mandsaur MLA Jagdish Dewra is a former MP Minister.
Two women legislators, including Ranjana Baghel from Manawar-Dhar and Nirmala Bhuria of Petlawad-Jhabua, too are in contention for a place in the expanded Council of Ministers.
Hopeful MLAs
Narayan Singh Kushwah (Gwalior South), Balkrishna Patidar (Khargone), Jalam Singh Patel (Narsinghpur), Ramesh Mendola (Indore II), Sudarshan Gupta (Indore I), Pradeep Lariya (Naryawali)