With elections scheduled for later this year in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expanded his cabinet. The CM included 3 more MLAs namely Rajendra Shukla, Gaurishankar Bisen and Rahul Lodhi as Madhya Pradesh ministers in his cabinet on August 26. The trio took the ministerial oath at a function in the Raj Bhavan today.Prior to this expansion, the state ministry had 31 members, including the CM. As per constitutional norms, the number can go up to 35, which is 15 per cent of the strength of the MP assembly which has 230 members. The last expansion of Shivraj Chouhan's cabinet took place in January 2021.Madhya Pradesh is among the five states where assembly elections are to be held later in this year to elect 230 members of the state. Chouhan who is serving his fourth term as CM and is the longest-serving CM of Madhya Pradesh is looking to balance caste equations and address regional aspirations with this expansion ahead of the State polls.