Lucknow, 10 May

(HS): On Sunday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expanding his Cabinet at Lok

Bhavan in Lucknow ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections next year, swearing

in six new ministers. Six vacant cabinet roles have already been filled. This

time, the emphasis has been on maintaining social and caste equilibrium, rather

than on experimenting. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is developing a plan to

incorporate the Brahmin, Jat, Dalit, Pasi, Valmiki, Lodh, and other backward

communities.

According to sources, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met with possible

candidates late into the night to finalize the list. Somendra Tomar and Ajit

Pal, ministers of state, have been elevated. Tomar, from western Uttar Pradesh,

might be given Cabinet or independent responsibility, while Ajit Pal is

anticipated to be handed more duties.

Kailash Rajput

from Tirwa in Kannauj and Surendra Dilher from Khair in Aligarh are among the

newly appointed ministers. Dilher, a famous Dalit leader from the Valmiki

group, is supposed to represent the party's outreach to Dalit voters, whilst

Rajput's participation is intended to boost support among the Lodh community.

Manoj Pandey, MLA from Unchahar in Raebareli, is among the most talked-about

candidates, and his entry is nearly probable. Pandey, a former close aide to

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and former minister in the SP cabinet,

joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He is being portrayed as a key

Brahmin figure for the party, having won the Unchahar seat in 2012 and 2017.

Bhupendra Singh

Chaudhary is a notable Jat leader from Western Uttar Pradesh. Chaudhary began

his political career with the RSS before joining the BJP in 1989. He has held

many organizational positions, including Uttar Pradesh BJP president, and

previously served as a Panchayati Raj minister in the Yogi administration.

Krishna Paswan of Khaga, Fatehpur, is a notable Dalit leader from the Pasi

caste. She has won several elections and is regarded as part of the BJP's

efforts to maintain its Dalit voter base.

Hansraj Vishwakarma, a Varanasi-based MLC, is a prominent leader in the

Vishwakarma community. He is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

His participation is likely to boost the BJP's appeal to non-Yadav OBC voters

in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The Uttar Pradesh

Council of Ministers currently has 54 members, including Chief Minister Keshav

Prasad Maurya and Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak. The state allows for a

maximum of sixty ministers. The expansion is viewed as a critical political

statement ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, with the BJP focussing on

balancing caste representation among major socio-economic groups.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi