Uttar Pradesh: CM Yogi Adityanath keeps home department, Keshav Prasad Maurya removed as PWD minister

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday allotted portfolios to the new ministers in his Cabinet, keeping with him the key home, vigilance and 32 other departments. Among other portfolios the CM kept with himself are appointments, personnel, housing and urban planning, revenue, food and civil supplies, mining, general administration, and civil aviation.

He will also directly supervise Revenue, General Administration, Institutional Finance, Justice and Students departments. Meanwhile, Nand Gopal Nandi will take care of Industrial Development, NRI and Investment Promotion departments.

The turncoats got more important berths as compared to the party’s old-time leaders.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has been allocated six departments — Rural Development, Rural Engineering, Food Processing, Entertainment Tax, Public Enterprise and National Integration. The Public Works Department, which Maurya headed the previous ministry, has been given to Jitin Prasada this time.

Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, who joined the BJP in 2016, got the medical education, medical, and health and family welfare, and mother and child care.

Baby Rani Maurya, former Uttarakhand Governor and the only woman in the cabinet, was allocated the woman welfare and child development and nutrition.

Cabinet Minister Suresh Khanna will continue to look after Finance and Parliamentary Affairs departments like in the previous ministry. Surya Pratap Shahi was given Agriculture, Agriculture Education and research departments. State BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh, who has been inducted in the Adityanath 2.0 government, got Jal Shakti and Flood Control.

Among allies, while Nishad party president Sanjay Nishad got Fisheries, Apna Dal (Sonelal) leader Ashish Patel was given the Technical Education department. Among Ministers of State (MoS) with independent charge, former IPS officer Asim Arun will head Social Welfare, SC/ST Welfare departments.

Among other MoS’ (independent charge) Sandip Singh, grandson of BJP veteran Kalyan Singh, will take care of Basic Education, while Daya Shankar Singh gets Transport. Danish Azad Ansari, the lone Muslim minister in the MoS rank, has been allocated Minorities Welfare besides Waqf and Haj departments.

The only sikh minister of the same MoS rank, Baldev Singh Aulakh, got Agriculture and Agriculture Education. According to constitutional provisions, there can be a maximum of 60 ministers in Uttar Pradesh, including the chief minister.

Among other women ministers, Gulab Devi of MoS (independent charge) rank will take care of Secondary Education. Three other women ministers of MoS rank — Pratibha Shukla, Rajni Tiwari and Vijay Lakshmi Gautam — will deputise their seniors in Women Welfare, Higher Education and Rural Development departments, respectively.

MoS (Ind) J P S Rathore, who holds MTech degree, will take care of Cooperative department, while the eldest among the ministers — A K Saxena — has been made in-charge of the Forest and Environment department.