Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday inducted Jitin Prasada and six others into his Council of Ministers, attempting to balance caste and regional aspirations ahead of the assembly polls early next year.
Prasada, who had crossed over to the BJP from the Congress in June, was administered oath as cabinet minister, while six others were sworn in as Ministers of State.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel administered oath to the new ministers at the Gandhi Auditorium in the Raj Bhawan in the presence of the Chief Minister.
Those inducted as Ministers of State are Paltu Ram, Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar, Sangeeta Balwant, Dharamveer Singh, Sanjeev Kumar and Dinesh Khatik.
With the latest inductions, the constitutional limit of having a maximum of 60 ministers in the state has been reached.
In a tweet in Hindi, Adityanath said, “Today’s cabinet expansion reflects the philosophy of Deendayal Upadhyay. Today’s expansion is motivated by the intention to give representation to every section, feeling of social balance, message of harmony and giving opportunity to the last man of the society.”
“Congratulations to all the new members of the council of ministers. (I) have full confidence that your energy, commitment, experience and pro-people attitude will help to fulfil the pledge of ‘Antyodaya’. Best wishes to all of you for a bright tenure,” he said.
Among the new ministers, Prasada is the lone Brahmin face, while Dinesh Khatik and Paltu Ram are Scheduled Castes and Sanjeev Kumar is Scheduled Tribe. Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar (Kurmi), Sangeeta Balwant (Bind) and Dharamveer Singh (Prajapati) are from backward castes.
Former Union minister Prasada, who hails from Shahjahanpur, is all set to become a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council with the UP government sending his name to UP Governor for approval, an official said.
Besides him, the names of Sanjay Nishad, who heads NISHAD (Nirbal Indian Shosit Hamara Aam Dal) party, Chaudhary Virendra Singh Gujjar and Gopal Anjan Bhurji have been recommended as nominated members of the Legislative Council, he added.
It is believed that Prasada’s induction was part of the party’s efforts to woo the Brahmin community, which accounts for around 13 per cent of the state’s population.
Son of veteran Congress leader Jitendra Prasada, who had unsuccessfully contested against Sonia Gandhi for the post of Congress president, Jitin Prasada is the second prominent close associate of Rahul Gandhi to say goodbye to the party. Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had earlier switched over to the BJP from the Congress.
Sangeet Balwant is the MLA from Ghazipur, Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar from Baheri in Bareilly district, Paltu Ram from Balrampur, Dinesh Khatik from Hastinapur and Sanjeev Kumar is the MLA from Obra in Sonbhadra district. Dharamveer Singh is a member of the Legislative Council and hails from Agra.
This is the second expansion of the Council of Ministers headed by Adityanath. The first expansion took place in August 2019.
7 new faces in Punjab cabinet
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi carried out his first cabinet expansion on Sunday, inducting 15 cabinet ministers which included seven new entrants, as the Congress gears up to face assembly elections that are barely five months away.
The new faces in the Channi Ministry are Randeep Singh Nabha, Raj Kumar Verka, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Pargat Singh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Gurkirat Singh Kotli.
Rana Gurjit Singh has made a comeback after resigning in 2018 from the Amrinder Singh Ministry.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the legislators.
Brahm Mohindra, Manpreet Singh Badal, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Aruna Chaudhary, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Razia Sultana, Vijay Inder Singla and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who were ministers in the previous Amarinder Singh-led cabinet, were retained as cabinet ministers.
Channi was handpicked as Punjab’s first Dalit chief minister following the unceremonious exit of Congress veteran Amarinder Singh after a prolonged power tussle with state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Ministers Rana Gurjit Singh, Mohindra and Singla are considered close to Amarinder Singh.
However, the discontent in the faction-ridden party appeared to be far from over.
Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Sunder Sham Arora, who were ministers in the Amarinder Singh-led cabinet, did not find a place in the new ministry.
Hours before the ceremony, Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Singh Kangar held a joint news conference where they questioned the decision to drop them. Balbir Sidhu even broke down while asking, “What is my fault?” while Kangar too posed the same question.
State Congress in-charge Harish Rawat said that those who could not find a place in the ministry will be accommodated in the government set-up and organisation. He said the exercise has been done to bring in young faces and strike a social and regional balance. Channi’s two deputies Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni were sworn in on Monday. The total allowed strength of the cabinet – 18 – has been reached.