UP CM Adityanath allocates portfolios, keeps Home

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, March 28

Three days after he took the oath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath on Monday distributed portfolios to the newly-inducted ministers in his Cabinet, keeping the all-important Home Ministry with himself.

Vigilance and Personnel are among the 25 departments he has kept with himself.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak will head Medical Education/Health/Family Welfare and his counterpart Rural Development and Food Processing, among others.

Maurya held the all-important PWD portfolio in the previous regime, which has now gone to Jitin Prasad.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “confidante” AK Sharma has got Urban Development and Adityanath’s right hand man, state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh Water Resources.

Senior leader Suresh Kumar Khanna has been given the charge of key Finance and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios. Agriculture has gone to senior leader Surya Pratap Shahi and Women and Child Development to Baby Rani Maurya.

Adityanath’s council includes 52 ministers.

As per the official release, the Chief Minister has retained Home, Vigilance, Revenue, General Administration, Information, Institutional Finance, Mining, Food Security, civil aviation, law, among others.

Chaudhary Laxmi Narain has been given charge of Cane Development, Dharampal Singh Dairy Development, Jaiveer Singh Tourism and Nand Gopal Nandi Industrial Development.

Sanjay Nishad has been allotted Fisheries, Asheesh Patel Technical Education and Nitin Agarwal Excise. Aseem Arun, a former IPS officer, has been given Social Welfare, Daya Shankar Singh Transport and Danish Azad, the lone Muslim minister, Minority Welfare.