Yogi Adityanath govt 2.0: Who made it, and who lost out

Yogi took oath for a second term as UP CM, with 52 ministers today

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R Yogi Adityanath took oath for a second term as Uttar Pradesh chief minister, with 52 ministerial colleagues today. In the backdrop were references to Eklavya and Suheldev - clear markers of BJP’s expansive and winning concept of Hindutva.

Despite widespread speculation that he would go to the Centre or the organisation, Keshav Prasad Maurya stayed on as deputy chief minister. Maurya, an OBC leader of stature, lost from Sirathu to Pallavi Patel, sister of Anupriya Patel, president of Apna Dal (S) - an ally of the BJP.

Maurya’s continuation as Adityanath’s deputy meant Baby Rani Maurya, the former Uttarakhand governor, had to be accommodated in the list of 16 cabinet ministers. She is the only female cabinet minister in this government.

Brijesh Pathak, law minister in the outgoing government, will be Adityanath’s other deputy, filling in for a post earlier held by Dinesh Sharma. Thus, one Brahmin face has been replaced by another.

Both the BJP’s partners - Apna Dal (S) and the NISHAD party - were awarded with posts in the cabinet. From the former, the pick was MLC Ashish Patel, who is the husband of Anupriya Patel. The Apna Dal (S) won 12 seats in this election, while the NISHAD party won six. The latter’s president Sanjay Nishad, an MLC, took oath as a cabinet minister. Nishad has, in the past, made his wish to be a deputy chief minister, known.

Other faces in the cabinet include repeats from the last government, such as Suresh Khanna, Surya Pratap Shahi, Nand Gopal Gupta, Dharam Pal Singh, Anil Rajbhar, Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, Jitin Prasada and Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary.

The notable exclusions are Sidharth Nath Singh and Jai Pratap Singh, and Satish Mahana, the minister for industries in the outgoing government.

New inductees include Swatantra Dev Singh, who is the BJP president in the state. Singh was a minister in the earlier years of Adityanath’s first term, too, but had resigned upon been made party chief.

Also, after a long wait, during which it was speculated that he would be the state’s deputy chief minister, Modi’s trusted former IAS officer Arvind Kumar Sharma was made part of the cabinet. Sharma is an MLC and a vice president of the party.

Jaivir Singh, a Thakur, who holds the distinction of winning with the highest margin from a rural constituency in this election, was also awarded a cabinet berth.

The caste combination of the cabinet is tilted towards the OBCs, thus sending a clear message about the BJP’s focus for the Lok Sabha elections of 2024. Also, Brahmins outnumber Thakurs, giving a boost to the party’s push to have their votes firmly within its folds.

Fourteen ministers with independent charge too took oath today. Again, there is just one woman among them - Gulab Devi, who was minister of state in the previous government.

Repeats include Sandeep Singh, the grandson of Kalyan Singh and Ravindra Jaiswal.

The most notable among the new names is Asim Arun, a former IPS officer. A Jatav, Arun’s selection follows the BJP strategy of hitting directly at what was once considered the Bahujan Samaj Party’s core vote bank.Also, figuring first time on the list is Daya Shanker Singh, husband of Swati Singh, who was a minister in the outgoing government.

There are three women in the 20 ministers of state who were sworn in. The list also includes Baldev Singh Aulakh, who is the only Sikh face in the government.

One notable absentee from today’s list was Mohsin Raza - minister for minorities in the outgoing government. The Muslim face of this ministry is Danish Azad Ansari, who started his political career with the party’s student wing in 2011.

There are four representatives from Varanasi - the parliamentary constituency of PM Narendra Modi. Of these, Dayashankar Mishra Dayalu, who ditched the Congress in 2014, is not an elected member of either House.