Why Chhattisgarh Cabinet Expansion By BJP Is A Bold Bet

Chhattisgarh's recent cabinet expansion has brought a political storm across both sides of the power spectrum.

Discontent is brewing within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the sidelining of senior leaders, while the opposition Congress is questioning the constitutionality of the move.

This is because the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly can have a maximum of 15 per cent members in the council of ministers, including the Chief Minister (CM).

With the induction of three new ministers into the Chhattisgarh cabinet on Wednesday, 20 August, the strength of the state's council of ministers is now 14, the highest ever.

The 14-member strength slightly exceeds the 15 per cent limit. However, the BJP defends it by citing the 'Haryana model', which also has 14 ministers, including the CM, with a 90-member Assembly.

On the other hand, Congress leader and former CM Bhupesh Baghel has targeted the BJP by questioning whether prior approval has been taken from the Centre to increase the strength.

"When our government was in power, we had written to the Prime Minister requesting a 14-member cabinet, but didn't get any response. Now the BJP has increased the Cabinet size. Has the Government of India allowed this? Was there a gazette notification? If not, this expansion is unconstitutional," Baghel said.

As this constitutional dispute unfolds, the real impact is being felt within the BJP's own ranks, where several veteran leaders find themselves on the outside looking in.

Change of Old Guards

The most notable feature of the Vishnu Deo Sai Cabinet is that of the 14 ministers, only two ministers were part of the previous Raman Singh Cabinets, while the remaining 12 are new faces.

Before the cabinet expansion, there was speculation about the induction of some of the senior leaders, including former ministers, into the Sai Cabinet.

However, when the cabinet was expanded after 20 months, none of these leaders, including Rajesh Munat, Amar Agrawal and Ajay Chandrakar, all former ministers, found their places.

The Congress was quick to target the BJP over the alleged sidelining of senior leaders. Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij highlighted that senior MLAs like Dharamlal Kaushik and Ajay Chandrakar did not attend the oath ceremony.

"It shows how they have been pushed into a Margdarshak Mandal (advisory committee). Unlike our government, where seniors were respected, the BJP has discarded its stalwarts. Infighting will only intensify," he said.

Countering the argument, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader Suyash Pande told Swarajya, "Congress, with its dynastic habits, cannot imagine such smooth transitions within a party and often witnesses infighting whenever leadership changes." He added that it is not about sidelining senior leaders, but about bringing forward a new line of leadership.

Another BJP insider also saw this as a positive development and told Swarajya, "Since two big names of Chhattisgarh BJP, Amar Agrawal and Ajay Chandrakar, have been left out, it seems like the BJP is looking forward with a completely new leadership."

Who Were Inducted

The three members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) who were sworn in are Gajendra Yadav, Rajesh Agrawal and Guru Khushwant Saheb.

While it is notable that all three are first-time MLAs, the political backgrounds of the three leaders are more interesting. Yadav belongs to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), while the other two are former Congress leaders.

Durg City MLA Gajendra Yadav is an active worker of the RSS. His father, Bisra Ram Yadav, has served as Chhattisgarh chief of the RSS, suggesting his deep roots with the organisation. Congress has even alleged that he was appointed under the RSS's pressure.

However, Yadav's appointment is more of a reward for his win in the 2023 Assembly election, against Congress stalwart late Motilal Vora's son, Arun Vora. Defeating an incumbent MLA from an established political family in his maiden contest was considered a formidable task.

Similarly, Rajesh Agrawal has been rewarded for defeating former Deputy CM of Chhattisgarh, T S Singh Deo. Congress leader Deo had held the Ambikapur Assembly constituency since 2008, but was defeated in 2023 by a narrow margin of 94 votes.

Agrawal had quit the Congress in 2018 to join the BJP. Soon, he became a member of the Surguja district executive committee. He was then nominated to contest the important Ambikapur seat, which the BJP had last won in 2003.

Another newly-inducted minister, Guru Khushwant Saheb, joined the BJP just a few months before the 2023 Assembly election and was given the BJP ticket. Khushwant defeated the incumbent Congress MLA, Dr Shivakumar Dahariya, to win in Arang, Raipur.

He has been rewarded for the legacy he carries. Being the son of spiritual leader Guru Baldas Saheb, he is the successor of Bhandarpuri Guru Gaddi, which has a substantial following among the Satnami community.

What These Appointments Mean

The appointments reflect a careful balancing of caste equations. Under the leadership of a CM from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, ministers from other communities have been appointed.

Rajesh Agrawal is a Marwari (from the trading community) belonging to the General category, Gajendra Yadav is from Other Backward Classes (OBC), appealing to the Yadav community, and Khushwant Saheb hails from the Satnami sect, the most followed by the Scheduled Castes (SC) in the state.

With these inductions, the Chhattisgarh cabinet now has seven OBC ministers, including Deputy CM Arun Sao, three STs, including CM Sai, two SCs, one Brahmin, i.e., Deputy CM Vijay Sharma, and one Vaishya.

After the BJP's prominent Vaishya leader, Brijmohan Agrawal, was sent to the Lok Sabha following his win in Raipur in 2024, a void was felt, which is now expected to be filled by Rajesh Agrawal.

Similarly, the induction of Gajendra Yadav will fill the gap left by late Hemanchand Yadav, the last Yadav leader to be a part of the Chhattisgarh government. Induction of Khushwant Saheb will ensure the backing of the Satnami community.

While the new appointments balance the caste equations, they do not perfectly balance the regional representation. With these appointments, the representation of the Sarguja region in the cabinet has gone up to five, while the Bastar region remains underrepresented.

Despite delivering eight of the 12 Assembly seats in the region to the BJP, the Naxal-affected Bastar has secured only one ministerial berth, while Surguja, rich in coal reserves, has bagged five, highlighting a regional imbalance.

Defending the move, BJYM leader Pande told Swarajya, "BJP won 14 of 14 seats in Surguja and hence, got more options from there. Bastar has also got key positions like state BJP president, a cabinet minister, BJP national vice president Lata Usendi and other appointees on boards and authorities."

Nonetheless, the appointments show that the Chhattisgarh BJP is ready to trust emerging leaders, rather than relying on veterans with administrative experience.

With these appointments, Chhattisgarh also got younger ministers in the form of 36-year-old Khushwant Saheb and 47-year-old Gajendra Yadav. "The inclusion of younger leaders is a welcome step, and this is one of the most youthful cabinets Chhattisgarh has seen," Pande added.

The BJP has also shown that it will not shy away from elevating first-time MLAs as ministers, even if, instead of being long-time ground workers, they are Congress defectors. This might be a risky move, but the BJP is balancing the ideological weight with an appointment from the RSS.