The long-delayed expansion of the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh Cabinet will take place on Sunday as the BJP’s central leadership is learnt to have given its nod for it, officials in the state government confirmed.
The decision comes after Assembly elections in four states concluded and the new West Bengal chief minister took oath on Saturday. Uttar Pradesh goes to polls next year.
Chief Minister Adityanath met Governor Anandiben Patel on Saturday evening soon after he landed in Lucknow upon his return from Kolkata, where he attended the swearing-in ceremony of new CM Suvendu Adhikari. Sanjay Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister and the State Information Department, confirmed that the swearing-in will begin at Jan Bhavan in the state capital from 3 pm onwards.
The list of the new ministers was yet to be finalised and given to the Governor till late Saturday evening, sources in the government said.
Here are the probable faces
Former state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary: Sources said he is a strong contender and is likely to get the Power portfolio — currently is with A K Sharma — and is known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The recent protests by electricity consumers across the state against smart prepaid power meters over ‘inflated’ power bills and the state government subsequently having to withdraw these meters is being seen as a major reason behind Sharma losing the key portfolio.
Hansraj Vishwakarma: An MLC hailing from the Prime Minister’s constituency of Varanasi, he is also BJP’s Varanasi district president. He is known to be an active party worker, having worked at booth level, and participated actively in the Ram temple movement. PM Modi had specially mentioned his name for his role in the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha election campaigning in Varanasi. Belonging to the OBC community, Vishwakarma is also likely to be given a key portfolio.
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Manoj Pandey: An expelled Samajwadi Party MLA from Rae Bareli is also among the probables. Though some senior BJP leaders and RSS functionaries are strongly opposed to his induction, it is learnt. Pandey along with other SP MLAs — Abhay Singh, Rakesh Singh and Pooja Pal — had defected from his party to support the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections. A minister in the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government from 2012 to 2017, he was among the party’s top leaders.
The other names doing rounds are of Sitapur MLA Asha Maurya, an OBC face; Aligarh MLA Surendra Diler, a Dalit; MLC Govind Narayan Shukla, a Brahmin; Fatehpur MLA Krishna Paswan, a Dalit; Mathura MLA and former minister Srikant Sharma; and MLC and former minister Mahendra Singh.
Singh is considered close to Adityanath and to some leaders in the BJP’s central leadership.
The expansion of the UP Cabinet has been on the cards since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP won fewer seats than the Opposition Samajwadi Party.
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At present, there are 21 Cabinet ministers, including the CM and two deputy CMs, 14 Ministers of State with Independent Charge, and 19 Ministers of State.
According to provisions, given the number of Assembly seats, six more ministers can be added to the state Cabinet which can have a maximum strength of 60. The Cabinet currently has 54 ministers, including the CM. The number of new ministers taking oath on Sunday can be more than six as some existing ministers could be dropped from the Cabinet, sources said.
Though the CM has a list of probables ready, it is yet to get the final nod from the party’s top leadership, sources said, adding the would-be ministers will get a call either late in the night or early in the morning.
Officials said all ministers have been asked to reach Jan Bhavan at 3 pm to attend the swearing-in and later arrive at Lok Bhawan (CM’s office) for a Cabinet meeting to be chaired by Adityanath.
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The newly inducted ministers will also attend the meeting, they added.
