Yogi expands Cabinet before LS elections

Lucknow: With an eye on evolving electorally beneficial equations in the coming Lok Sabha elections, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath expanded his Cabinet on Tuesday – the first during his second tenure – ticking all the regional and caste boxes in a bid to attract the voters.

Four new ministers who took oath include Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) MLA Anil Kumar, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Dara Singh Chauhan and Sunil Kumar Sharma.

The four ministers were sworn-in in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan here.

SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar said that this (becoming minister) was a big honour for the people of the marginalised society. “Political leaders of not only the ruling party but also the opposition are happy after I took the oath of office,” he told this reporter.

After taking oath as minister, RLD leader Anil Kumar thanked his party chief Jayant Chaudhary, Yogi Adityanath, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This is a big responsibility, and I will try to work with honesty. We will work towards winning all 80 (Lok Sabha) seats here (in UP) and fulfill PM’s target of 400 seats,” he said. The current UP council of ministers has 52 members -- 18 cabinet ministers, including the chief Minister, 14 ministers of state (independent charge), and 20 ministers of state.

The cabinet expansion is seen to be an attempt by the BJP to consolidate its position in several regions of the state ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Last week, RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda in Delhi and formally joined the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). On Monday, RLD declared its candidates from Bijnor and Baghpat for the general elections.