In the Sai Cabinet, there are only three ministers who were in the earlier BJP government led by Dr Raman Singh, which was in power for 15 years and the remaining 11 are new faces.Chhattisgarh, in accordance with the provision of the Constitution with maximum of 15 per cent of the strength of the Vidhan Sabha permissible for council of ministers, had continued with only 13 ministers, including the chief minister, ever since the state was created in the year 2000. The Chhattisgarh state has 90 legislators and the new cabinet expansion has apparently followed the model of Haryana which too has the same number of elected assembly members.Former CM Bhupesh Baghel cited the new 14-member cabinet expansion as “unconstitutional”. “If the state government has taken a prior approval from the Centre then that should be made public and if not, then such a 14-member cabinet is unlawful. We had also sought the approval from the Centre for a 14-member cabinet but didn’t get any response,” claimed Baghel.CM Sai took oath on December 10, 2023, followed by 11 ministers administering oath on December 21, while keeping one post vacant. In June 2024, one more ministerial post fell vacant after a senior BJP leader, Brijmohan Agrawal, an eight-time MLA, was elected as a member of parliament from the Raipur Lok Sabha seat.
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