After Mahakumbh, buzz about ministry expansion, U.P. BJP rejig
Party leaders who played key role in U.P. bypolls likely to be rewarded with berths in ministry, some may get organisational role with eye on 2027 assembly polls
rajesh.singh@htlive.com
: After successful organisation of the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, there is a buzz in the corridors of power about a second expansion of the Yogi Adityanath 2.0 ministry as well as a rejig in the state BJP.
The party leaders who played a pivotal role in the Uttar Pradesh assembly bypoll may be rewarded with ministerial berths, a BJP leader said.
The big winners in the by-election -- BJP MLA Chandrabhanu Paswan who defeated SP candidate Ajit Prasad in Milkipur and Dharamraj Nishad who defeated SP candidate Sobhawati Verma in Katehari -- may be accommodated in the ministry, according to those in the know of things. The strength of the full Council of Ministers stands at 54 currently with six vacancies.
The BJP won the bypolls comprehensively bagging seven out of 10 seats on its own and one seat went to its ally, the Rashtriya Lok Dal. The opposition SP won just two seats. The bypoll morale booster came months after the BJP suffered a setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, winning just 33 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Now, the buzz about the ministry expansion has come weeks before the Yogi government 2.0 completes three years in office in March.
“Non-performers are likely to be axed, while the performers will be rewarded with promotion and allotment of important departments in the ministry,” said a BJP leader.
As the BJP has started gearing up for the 2027 assembly election, ministers known for organisational skills might be shifted to the organisation for coordination work and strengthening the party structure, he said.
During the expansion, the major chunk of berths are likely to be allotted to leaders from the Dalit and OBC communities to counter the Samajwadi Party’s PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formula ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has already set the Sanatan pitch for the 2027 assembly polls with successful organisation of the Mahakumbh-2025.
The BJP may also look to accommodate the SP MLAs who rebelled against their party during the Rajya Sabha election in February 2024.
Rebel SP lawmakers including Unchahar MLA Manoj Pandey, Puja Pal from Chail, Rakesh Pratap Singh from Gauriganj and Rakesh Pandey MLA from Jalalpur have been waiting anxiously for over a year for accommodation in the ministry.
The rebel SP MLAs had several rounds of meeting with senior BJP leaders in Delhi as well as in Lucknow. By giving them berths in the ministry, the BJP plans to utilize their services in the 2027 assembly election.
The rejig in the BJP state unit is also on cards from the state to the district level.
State BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary is likely to be made a cabinet minister, paving the way to shift of the ministers in the cabinet, according to those in the know of things.
The PWD portfolio was held by Jitin Prasad before his election to the Lok Sabha and revenue that fell vacant after the election of Anoop Chandra Valmiki to Parliament might be allotted to new ministers. At present, both the portfolios are with chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Out of 90 organisational districts, the list of the BJP’s 70 new district presidents is likely to be released soon.
The first expansion of the Yogi 2.0 ministry took place in March 2024 ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Four cabinet ministers -- two from the BJP and two from NDA’s alliance partners -- were given berths in the ministry. Those inducted then included Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief and Zahoorabad MLA Om Prakash Rajbhar, Rashtriya Lok Dal’s MLA from Purqazi Anil Kumar, BJP MLC Dara Singh Chauhan and BJP MLA from Sahibabad Sunil Kumar Sharma
With the first expansion, the strength of the Yogi ministry swelled from 52 to 56 ministers against the permissible strength of 60.
After the Lok Sabha election, two ministerial berths were vacated as the then PWD Minister Jitin Prasad won the Pilibhit parliamentary seat and revenue minister Anoop Pradhan Valmiki bagged the Hathras Lok Sabha seat.
The strength of the UP Council of ministers came down to 54 with six vacancies.
At the present, the council of ministers has 21 cabinet ministers, 14 ministers of state (independent charge) and 19 ministers of state.
