The national leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are learnt to have given green signal to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's formula for forming the State Cabinet.
After having struck a hat-trick in forming the Government in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with national BJP vice president Prabhat Jha, State BJP president Narendra Singh Tomar and State Organisational general secretary Arvind Menon had called on senior party leaders, including national BJP president Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Party sources claimed that Chouhan had already prepared a list of ministers to be included in the Cabinet and he got the list endorsed by the Central leadership. The date of formation of the Cabinet has not been decided yet, but it is believed that in a couple of days, the new ministers could be sworn in.
Sources further stated that the Chief Minister has coined a new guideline comprising around 12 points and only those legislators who are fit in those points would be sworn in as ministers in the Shivraj Cabinet. In deciding this guideline, besides State leaders, national BJP general secretary and in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Affair Ananth Kumar was also present.
It is believed that in formation of the Cabinet, it has been kept in mind that the MlA should have a clean image, besides considering region and caste criterion. Senior leaders are learnt to have asked Shivraj to avoid inducting leaders' sons in the Cabinet, because there is a long queue of such legislators and by inducting a few would send out a wrong message among the people.
It has also come to the fore that Chouhan is planning to keep around a dozen posts vacant so that the MlAs get a chance in the expansion of the Cabinet, after lok Sabha elections.
The guideline includes - no chance for the first timers, at present no place for leaders' sons, eligible, experienced and clean image MlAs to have priority, former ministers should be given chance after assessing their working, being fit in regional and caste equation and keeping around a dozen berths in the cabinet vacant till lok Sabha polls.