Exclusive: What Chief Minister Mohan Yadav Said On Madhya Pradesh Cabinet

Mohan Yadav, who took oath as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh a week ago, cleared the air surrounding the formation of the cabinet in the state.

To a question on when the Madhya Pradesh government's cabinet will be constituted, the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh told NDTV that, "There is no hurry, it will be formed soon,". Mr Yadav today attended the proceedings of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly for the first time after taking oath as Chief Minister.

Speculations have been going over decisions on cabinet formation. Discussions about the cabinet formation were held at the residence of the party's national president, Jagat Prakash Nadda.

Earlier, BJP's Kailash Vijaywargiya said, "A decision on cabinet formation be taken in this matter in a party meeting on December 17." 

Mohan Yadav won his first Assembly election from Ujjain South in 2013 and was re-elected in 2018. He was the education minister under the Chouhan government.

"For any MLA it's a dream to come to the Assembly after getting elected. In today's time and especially after Prime Minister Modi was elected, the regard for elected representatives and institutions has increased and this gives us trust, which is important for a democracy," Mr Yadav told NDTV on his first day in the Assembly as Chief Minister. 

Mr Yadav's name was the second surprise pick announced by the BJP after it was declared the winner in three Hindi heartland states on December 3. Fighting anti-incumbency in a state it had ruled for nearly 20 years, the party pulled off a stupendous victory in Madhya Pradesh, winning 163 seats in the 230-member Assembly and reducing the Congress to just 66.  

Mohan Yadav successfully defended his seat in the Ujjain South constituency, winning by a margin of 12,941 votes against Congress candidate Chetan Premnarayan Yadav.

Despite Mr Chouhan not being named as the chief ministerial pick and the BJP banking on PM Narendra Modi's popularity for this year's polls, experts said the four-time chief minister's popularity and welfare schemes, especially Ladli Behna, played a big role in the party's success.