Final Meeting on UP Cabinet Line-up Tonight at Amit Shah’s Residence; Adityanath, Nadda to be Present

Ahead of the grand swearing-in ceremony of Yogi Adityanath for the second term in Uttar Pradesh on March 25, a last and final meeting to discuss the cabinet formation of the BJP-led UP government is expected to be held at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence in Delhi late Wednesday evening. It is likely to be held around 7:30 pm and attended by top BJP leaders such as Yogi Adityanath, JP Nadda, BL Santosh, and Dharmendra Pradhan.

Adityanath will reach Delhi directly from Dehradun after attending the oath-taking ceremony of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

A few days back, Shah was in UP’s capital city Lucknow to make last-minute tweaks to the list of Chief Minister Adityanath’s cabinet and council of ministers on the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have a perfect balance in the cabinet and council, with proper representation to every section of society.

Shah has been made the observer for the state, along with his co-observer former Chief Minister of Jharkhand Raghubar Das.

PROBABLE MINISTERS in UP Cabinet

The names that are expected to be included on the list of ministers, according to sources:

SWATANTRA DEV SINGH: The party’s president in the most crucial state had been one of the most accessible leaders in the state. He is an MLC and sources close to the top brass believe that Singh, with his proximity to Yogi, is likely to find a place in the new cabinet.

BRAJESH PATHAK: The law minister in the previous Yogi government and a Brahmin face of the party in UP, various sources have stamped his name as a probable minister.

SRIKANT SHARMA: Sources said that Sharma is likely to secure a berth in Yogi’s cabinet.

KUNWAR BRIJESH SINGH: An MLA from Deoband seat, a tough seat to contest with Yadavs and Muslims in significant numbers, sources said that Singh is likely to be rewarded for winning the seat.

ADITI SINGH: Singh is a second-generation politician who was a sitting Congress MLA from Raebareli Sadar seat, a seat her late father Akhilesh Singh represented for years. She quit the Congress ahead of the 2022 assembly polls and branched out to the BJP. Singh defeated Samajwadi Party’s Ram Pratap Yadav.

ASIM ARUN OR RAJESHWAR SINGH: Sources said either Asim Arun, an IPS officer who won Kannauj, or Rajeshwar Singh, formed Enforcement Directorate officer, are likely to be included in the cabinet. Singh had taken voluntary retirement for his debut election. Sources stated that Singh is expected to be rewarded when the council of ministers is formed.

Former ministers Satish Mahana, Ashutosh Tandon, Jitin Prasada and Suresh Khanna are being considered final as ministers. Sources claimed that Baby Rani Maurya, who is an SC, is likely to get a respectable position.

DEPUTY CMS

Sources in the party close to the power centres said five names and two scenarios are being discussed for the post of deputy CMs, and there is no consensus on it.

The names under consideration are Brajesh Pathak, Sri Kant Sharma, Baby Rani Maurya, Dinesh Shama and Keshav Prasad Maurya.

“There is a proposal to repeat both the deputy CMs again if there is no consensus, as there is discussion over repeating Keshav Prasad Maurya. Another discussion is to have a Brahmin deputy CM and both Pathak and Sharma are contenders. Baby Rani Maurya was a governor and she is set to get a senior post. Dinesh Sharma was offered the post of state president, but that deal couldn’t be closed,” said the source.

Sources said that things will be finalised on Monday when Shah is in Lucknow.

STAGE SET FOR GRAND CEREMONY

The swearing-in ceremony of Yogi Adityanath as Uttar Pradesh CM will be held at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ikana stadium in Lucknow on March 25.

On Monday, state unit president of the party Swatantra Dev Singh and general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal had held a meeting with party office bearers, during which they were assigned with responsibilities for the swearing-in ceremony.

After coming to power with full majority in 2017 assembly elections, the BJP had chosen Adityanath, the five-term MP from Gorakhpur, as the state CM, and had also made him the leader of the BJP legislature party.

On March 19, 2017, Yogi took the oath as chief minister of UP along with two deputy Chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, as well as other ministers.

During the recently concluded assembly elections, BJP and its allies together posted victory on 273 of the total 403 seats. The party set a record of forming a government with full majority for the second consecutive term after a gap of 37 years in the politically important state.

BJP state general Secretary Govind Narayan Shukla said elaborate preparations are underway at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee stadium on the Shahid Path for a grand swearing in ceremony.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a large number of central ministers and eminent personalities from different fields are expected to be present there. A letter on behalf of Shukla has been sent to the party’s many regional and district in-charge, presidents, and district presidents, thanking them for the party’s victory and urging them to attend the event. Through the letter, Shukla tasked the office bearers with the job of preparing a list of attendees and arrange for them the invitation and admit cards. The office-bearers were also asked to visit a temple and perform a puja’ between 8 am and 10 am on the day ministers take oath.