Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai's cabinet was expanded on Wednesday with the induction of three new Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs, bringing its total strength to 14. This marks the largest cabinet in the state’s history since the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, was introduced to limit the size of state councils of ministers.
Governor Ramen Deka administered the oath of office and secrecy to the three first-time legislators — Rajesh Agrawal, Guru Khushwant Saheb, and Gajendra Yadav — at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan. The event was attended by CM Sai, Assembly Speaker Raman Singh, Deputy CMs Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma, along with other state ministers and leaders.
Gajendra Yadav has been given charge of the school education, law and legal affairs, and cottage industry ministries. Guru Khushwant Saheb will serve as the minister for skill development, technical education and employment, and the Scheduled Caste Development department. Rajesh Agrawal has been assigned the tourism, culture, religious trust and endowment ministries.
CM Sai congratulated the new ministers and expressed his confidence that they will serve the people with dedication and efficiency, contributing to Chhattisgarh's development and good governance. He stated that the government would continue to work with collective cooperation to fulfil the aspirations of the people.
Before this expansion, the Chhattisgarh cabinet had 11 members, including the chief minister. In Chhattisgarh, which has a 90-member assembly, the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act sets the maximum size of the cabinet at 15 per cent of the total strength of the House, which would be 13.5 members. Sources say Chhattisgarh has now adopted the "Haryana model", where a 14-member cabinet is permitted in a 90-member assembly.
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The expanded cabinet is a strategic move to ensure a balance of caste and regional representation. Of the three new ministers, Yadav is from the numerically strong Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, Saheb from the Scheduled Caste community, and Agrawal from the general category.
After the expansion, the cabinet now has seven members from the OBC community: Deputy CM Arun Sao, and ministers Lakhan Lal Dewangan, Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, OP Choudhary, Tank Ram Verma, Laxmi Rajwade, and Gajendra Yadav. CM Sai and ministers Ram Vichar Netam and Kedar Kashyap are from the Scheduled Tribes. Dayaldas Baghel and Guru Khushwant Saheb are from the Scheduled Caste category, while Deputy CM Vijay Sharma and Rajesh Agrawal are from the general category. Laxmi Rajwade remains the only woman member in the cabinet.
The cabinet had a vacancy after former minister Brijmohan Agrawal resigned last year upon being elected to the Lok Sabha from Raipur.
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