BHOPAL: Just a few hours after the second cabinet expansion of Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh, supporters of BJP MLAs, who failed to get ministerial berths have started protesting.
A supporter of BJP MLA from Indore-II Ramesh Mendola tried to immolate self near the BJP office in Indore. But alert co-workers prevented him from doing so.
Mendola, a three-time MLA from Indore-II and close confidant of party's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, was among the frontrunners for a ministerial berth.
But it was Mhow MLA Usha Thakur, who got the ministerial berth. Thakur is seen to be from Vijayvargiya's rival camp.
It was not only on Indore's streets that Ramesh Mendola supporters protested, but they also vented their anger and disappointment over social media.
In Mandsaur district, meanwhile, supporters of local BJP MLA Yashpal Singh Sisodiya (seen to be close to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan) sat on dharna for making their leader a part of the expanded ministerial team.
Former CM and ex-Union minister Uma Bharti is also reportedly unhappy over new legislators from her Bundelkhand region not being considered in the expansion.
She is particularly dejected over her OBC Lodhi community being ignored in the cabinet expansion, despite a strong recommendation by her to the party organisation.
She is believed to have written about it to party national vice president in charge of the state Vinay Sahastrabudhe and state party president VD Sharma.