MP to finally get new health minister amid COVID crisis with CM Shivraj expanding cabinet

Madhya Pradesh Government will witness the much-anticipated cabinet expansion on Tuesday 12 PM under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and with that, the state may get its new health minister as it grapples with the deadly Coronavirus Pandemic.

BJP's Narottam Mishra, Kamal Patel, Meena Singh, Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput are speculated to take oath as ministers.

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Since the collapse of Kamal Nath led Congress government in the state, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been running a one-man cabinet, even as the cases of Coronavirus soared in the state. Madhya Pradesh currently has 1485 cases with 74 deaths while 127 have been cured and discharged. On March 23, a day before the nationwide lockdown was announced, BJP MP chief Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh at Raj Bhavan for the fourth time.

On April 7, 32 health officials tested positive in the office building of  Madhya Pradesh Directorate of Health Services in Bhopal. Reports state that the health officials had attended a meeting to fight COVID-19, spreading the virus - which has now affected 90 officials. Chouhan has ordered a probe to find how 90 state health officials in Bhopal tested positive.

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COVID-19 task force set up

Chouhan has appointed a COVID-19 task force with 21 other MLAs. The task force is headed by former health minister Tulsi Silawat from the Kamal Nath cabinet, who is a Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalist. The government has sealed off 15 districts in addition to the three major cities Bhopal, Ujjain, and Indore - which have already been sealed. Previously, the state government also invoked the Essential Services Management Act (ESMA) in the state with immediate effect to combat COVID-19 to ensure essential supplies and services are operational during this crisis.