After performance review: Madhya Pradesh minister loses portfolio, CM takes over

3 min readBhopalUpdated: Jul 15, 2026 03:58 PM IST

The decision comes weeks after CM Mohan Yadav conducted individual performance review meetings with members of his Council of Ministers and assessed the functioning of their respective departments. (FB@DrMohanYadav51)

In the first significant reshuffle of responsibilities following a review of his ministers’ performance, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has withdrawn the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development portfolio from Minister of State (Independent Charge) Lakhan Patel and placed the department under his own charge.

An order issued by the General Administration Department late Tuesday reassigned Patel to the Anand (Happiness) Department, making him its minister in place of the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Department. No official reason has been cited for the change.

The decision comes weeks after Yadav conducted individual performance review meetings with members of his Council of Ministers and assessed the functioning of their respective departments. Sources said the decision followed a review of Patel’s performance after he failed to open cow shelters in the state under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

The findings of those reviews are understood to have been shared with the BJP’s central leadership, fuelling speculation of a wider Cabinet reshuffle in the coming weeks.

Patel, a second-term MLA from Patharia in Damoh district, was among the first-time legislators inducted into the Yadav ministry after the BJP retained power in the 2023 Assembly elections. An OBC leader from the Bundelkhand region, he had been handling the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Department since the formation of the government.

With Tuesday’s order, the chief minister has assumed direct control of the department, now maintaining direct oversight of a key sector linked to dairy production, livestock welfare and rural livelihoods. Raising the state’s milk production to join the club of the country’s top producers has been one of CM Yadav’s objectives.

The change also marks the second time in two years that a first-time minister has lost a major portfolio. In July 2024, Cabinet Minister Nagarsingh Chouhan was divested of the forest department and shifted to the Scheduled Castes Welfare Department. The forest portfolio was subsequently assigned to Ramniwas Rawat after he joined the BJP from the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

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Chouhan had publicly expressed his disappointment over the decision and even indicated that he was considering resigning from the ministry.

Tuesday’s reshuffle is likely to intensify speculation that more ministers could see their responsibilities altered as the chief minister fine-tunes his Cabinet following the internal performance assessment.

With the latest change, the chief minister now directly oversees 11 departments, including General Administration, Home, Public Relations, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, Narmada Valley Development, Aviation, Mineral Resources, Public Service Management, Non-Resident Indians, and Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development.

Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.

Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.

Expertise and Reporting Beats

Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:

National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.

Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).

Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.

Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.

Professional Background

Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.

Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.

Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.

Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.

Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.

Digital & Professional Presence

Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express

Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More