Akhilesh rejigs team, drops 8 ministers

With less than two years left for the next assembly polls in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday sacked five Cabinet ministers and three Ministers of State (MoS) and withdrew portfolios of nine MoS as part of a major reshuffle. The rejig of the government is being seen as a precursor to a major reshuffle in the days to come.

The ministers who have been dropped from the Cabinet are Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh (Stamp and Court Fees, Civil Defence, Registration), Ambika Chaudhary, (Backward Class Welfare, Handicapped Welfare), Shiv Kumar Beria (Textile and Sericulture Industries), Narad Rai (Khadi and Village Industries) and Shivkant Ojha (Technical Education).

MoS Alok Kumar Shakya (Technical Education), Yogesh Pratap Singh alias Yogesh Bhaiya (Basic Education) and Bhagwat Sharan Gangawar (MSME, Export Promotion) have also been dropped. “On the recommendation of the Chief Minister, the Governor has removed five cabinet ministers and three MoS,” a Raj Bhawan statement issued in state Capital Lucknow said.

The new ministers following the reshuffle are likely to take oath on October 31, the spokesman said.

Besides, portfolios of nine ministers, including Health Minister Ahmad Hasan and controversial Food and Civil Supplies minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, have been withdrawn.

Apart from them, the ministers from whom portfolios have been withdrawn are Awadhesh Prasad (Social Welfare, SC&ST Welfare, Sainik Welfare), Paras Nath Yadav (Horticulture and Food Processing), Ram Govind Chaudhary (Primary Education), Durga Prasad Yadav (Transport), Brahamshanker Tripathi (Homeguards, Prantiya Raksha Dal), Iqbal Mehmood (Fisheries, Public Enterprises) and Mehbood Ali (Secondary Education). They will be allocated portfolios after the reshuffle on October 31.