LUCKNOW: In a bid to counter the Samajwadi Party's PDA (backwards, Dalits, minorities) narrative ahead of the upcoming state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday expanded the Yogi Adityanath cabinet by inducting six new ministers, including three from Other Backward Classes and two Dalits. Additionally, two junior ministers were promoted to independent charge, both from OBC backgrounds. The sole upper caste face in the expansion is Samajwadi Party rebel MLA Manoj Pandey, a Brahmin.
This expansion is likely the last for the Yogi cabinet in its second term before Uttar Pradesh goes to polls early next year. The cabinet now has the maximum possible strength of 60 members, comprising 23 cabinet ministers, 16 ministers of state with independent charge, and 21 ministers of state.
Oath Ceremony and New Appointments
Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath to former state BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary and Manoj Pandey as cabinet ministers, and to Kailash Rajput, Hansraj Vishwakarma, Krishna Paswan, and Surendra Diler as junior ministers. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present during the ceremony. Additionally, existing junior ministers Ajit Singh Pal and Somendra Tomar were given independent charge.
Among the new inductees, Chaudhary and Vishwakarma are Members of the Legislative Council, while the other four are Members of the Legislative Assembly. Three of the six new ministers—Bhupendra Chaudhary, Hansraj Vishwakarma, and Kailash Rajput—belong to the OBC category, signaling the BJP's efforts to reach out to backward communities and counter the SP's PDA narrative, which was seen as a factor in the BJP's Lok Sabha tally dropping from 62 in 2019 to 33 in 2024. Both promoted ministers, Tomar and Pal, are also from OBC backgrounds. Tomar belongs to the Gujjar community, a significant vote bank in certain western Uttar Pradesh seats, while Pal belongs to the Pal community, which has a strong presence between Kanpur and Agra regions.
Dalit Representation and Upper Caste Outreach
The two other new faces, Krishna Paswan and Surendra Diler, are non-Jatav Dalits. The BJP aims to retain the non-Jatav Dalit vote bank, which had been supportive in past elections but drifted during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls due to the opposition's narrative that a strong BJP government would change the Constitution and end reservation. The induction also includes a range of non-Yadav backward communities: a Jat, a Lodh, a Vishwakarma, a Pal, and a Gujjar.
The inclusion of Brahmin lawmaker Manoj Pandey is seen as an effort to counter anti-party sentiments among upper castes following the University Grants Commission's guidelines for OBC students, which were later stayed by the Supreme Court. Opposition parties have used this issue to portray the BJP as anti-upper caste.
Composition of the Yogi Cabinet
The 60-member Yogi ministry now includes 25 OBCs, 21 upper castes, 11 Dalits, one Sikh, one Punjabi Khatri, and one Muslim. With the expansion complete, attention now shifts to organizational restructuring within the state BJP unit.
Organizational Rejig Awaited
Just like the cabinet expansion, organizational restructuring has been long awaited. It has been over four months since Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was appointed as the Uttar Pradesh BJP chief. Patience has been key for many leaders awaiting elevation. Krishna Paswan received a ministerial berth in her third term as an MLA, while Kailash Rajput waited for four terms before becoming a minister.
Among the two cabinet-rank ministers, Bhupendra Chaudhary waited over four months for his transition. The Jat leader from Moradabad was the Panchayati Raj minister in Yogi 1.0 before becoming the state BJP chief. Manoj Pandey, the former SP MLA who cross-voted for the BJP in the 2024 Rajya Sabha polls along with Gauriganj SP MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh and Kalpi MLA Vinod Chaturvedi, had been awaiting rehabilitation since then. It has been over four months since Pandey and others were declared unattached in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, paving the way for his induction into the ministry.
