Six new ministers inducted into Yogi Adityanath ministry in UP; two others promoted

In the run-up to the crucial 2027 assembly polls, the Yogi Adityanath government on Sunday inducted six more ministers and promoted two existing ministers.

Of the new inductions, two were appointed as Cabinet ministers, two as Ministers of State (Independent Charge), and four as Ministers of State at the swearing-in ceremony held at Jan Bhavan.

Advertisement

Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office and secrecy to all ministers. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and State President Pankaj Chaudhary were also present at the ceremony.

The new ministers sworn in were rebel SP member Manoj Pandey, former UP BJP state president Bhupendra Choudhury, Surendra Diler, Krishna Paswan, Hansraj Vishwakarma and Kailash Rajput.

The promoted ministers were Ajit Pal and Somendra Tomar.

With these appointments, the total strength of the state ministry has risen to the maximum permissible limit of 60. Among the newly appointed ministers, one is a Brahmin, three are OBCs, and two are Dalits.

While Bhupendra Chaudhary and Manoj Pandey were sworn in as Cabinet ministers, Ajit Pal and Somendra Singh Tomar were sworn in as Ministers of State (Independent Charge). These two leaders have been promoted from Minister of State to Minister of State (Independent Charge).

The other ministers appointed as Ministers of State include Krishna Paswan, Kailash Singh Rajput, Surendra Diler, and Hansraj Vishwakarma.

The cabinet expansion is widely seen as a strategic move ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. By inducting leaders from various communities, the BJP is attempting to maintain regional and social balance.

Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary has also secured the position of a cabinet minister in the Yogi cabinet. A former state president of the BJP and one of the prominent Jat leaders in western Uttar Pradesh, he hails from Moradabad. He has long been active in the RSS and BJP.

He first became a member of the Legislative Council in 2016. After the BJP government was formed in 2017, he was appointed Minister of State for Panchayati Raj (Independent Charge) and in 2019, he assumed the responsibility of Cabinet Minister, Panchayati Raj.

Manoj Kumar Pandey, a Samajwadi Party MLA from the Unchahar assembly seat in Rae Bareli, has also been sworn in as a cabinet minister. He previously served as a cabinet minister in the Samajwadi Party government from 2012 to 2017.

Pandey was elected MLA in 2022 on an SP ticket and also served as the party’s chief whip in the assembly. Manoj Pandey is seen as a prominent Brahmin figure for the BJP in the Awadh and Purvanchal regions. Besides, he represents the assembly segment of the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat represented by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Kailash Singh Rajput was also inducted into the cabinet as a Minister of State. Kailash Singh Rajput, MLA from the Tirwa assembly seat in Kannauj, first won the election in 1996 as a BJP candidate. He later won the 2007 election on a BSP ticket. In 2017, he returned to the BJP and served two consecutive terms in the assembly.

Hansraj Vishwakarma was also sworn in as a Minister of State. A BJP MLC with a strong influence in backward class politics, Hansraj Vishwakarma has been active in politics for the past 34 years.

He began his political career at the booth level in 1989 and played an active role in the Ram Mandir movement. He is considered instrumental in the BJP’s landslide victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2022 assembly elections in Varanasi.

Surendra Diler, the MLA from Khair assembly seat in Aligarh district, has been appointed as a Minister of State. Considered one of the BJP’s prominent Dalit youth leaders, he is the son of former BJP MP Rajveer Singh Diler. His family has long held significant political influence in the region.

Krishna Paswan also received a place in the cabinet and has been appointed Minister of State. Krishna Paswan, MLA from the Khaga assembly seat in Fatehpur district, began her public life as an Anganwadi worker. She has served as a four-time MLA and a two-time Zila Panchayat member and is considered a prominent Dalit woman face of the BJP.

Somendra Tomar, the MLA from the Meerut South assembly seat and currently the Minister of State for Energy and Additional Energy Sources, has been elevated in the government. He has been promoted from Minister of State to Minister of State (Independent Charge).

Similarly, Ajitpal Singh, MLA from the Sikandra assembly seat in Kanpur Dehat and Minister of State for Science and Technology and Electronics and Information Technology, has also been elevated to Minister of State (Independent Charge).

According to political experts, this cabinet expansion is a strategic effort by the BJP to balance the Purvanchal, Western Uttar Pradesh, Dalit, OBC, and Brahmin equations.

It is worth noting that the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly has a total of 403 seats.

According to constitutional provisions, a maximum of 60 ministers can be appointed in the state. Currently, the Yogi government has 54 ministers, so new faces have been given the opportunity to fill the six vacant seats. With this, the state’s ministerial quota has been fulfilled.

Earlier, at around 6:30 pm on Saturday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met with Governor Anandiben Patel. After a 45-minute conversation, Yogi presented the Governor with a list of newly appointed ministers.

The first expansion of the Yogi cabinet took place on March 5, 2024, just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.