Yogi takes oath as UP CM; picks Maurya, Pathak as his deputies

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, March 25

Yogi Adityanath today took oath as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for the second term at a mega ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda. Chief Ministers of party-ruled states and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar were also present on the occasion.

52 ministers sworn in

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• 52 ministers also sworn-in along with Yogi Adityanath
• Keshav P Maurya retained; many big names dropped
• Brajesh Pathak replaces Dinesh Sharma as Deputy CM
• PM’s confidante AK Sharma and state chief Swatantra Dev also made cabinet ministers

Yogi was sworn in along with 52 ministers, including Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak as Deputy CMs, all hand-picked by Modi and Shah keeping in mind regional and caste equations and giving representation to all sections.

The Yogi 2.0 council has 16 Cabinet ministers, 14 ministers of state with independent charge and 20 ministers of state. There are 31 new faces in the government. Twenty-four ministers from the first term have been dropped.

While the party has retained top OBC leader Maurya despite him losing his seat, several big names, including Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma and cabinet ministers Shrikant Sharma and Sidharth Nath Singh, were dropped.

Shrikant Sharma’s name is, however, doing the rounds for the post of UP state president. The buzz is that after party president JP Nadda completes his term, some names from UP may figure in the organisation headed by the new chief. PM’s close confidant and former bureaucrat AK Sharma has also made it as the UP Cabinet. The inclusion of AK Sharma, an MLC, is an acknowledgement of his handling of the second wave of Covid-19 in Varanasi/Purvanchal region.