In a bid to counter the Samajwadi Party's PDA (backwards, Dalits, minorities) push ahead of the upcoming state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday inducted six new ministers into the Uttar Pradesh cabinet. Among the new inductees, three belong to the Other Backward Classes category and two are Dalits, reflecting the party's strategy to strengthen its outreach to these communities.
Cabinet Expansion Details
This was the second and likely final expansion of the Yogi Adityanath cabinet in its second term before the state goes to the polls early next year. The expanded council of ministers 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.
Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office to the new ministers. Former state BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary and Samajwadi Party rebel MLA Manoj Pandey were inducted as cabinet ministers. Pandey, a Brahmin, is the sole upper caste face in this expansion. The four new junior ministers are Kailash Rajput, Hansraj Vishwakarma, Krishna Paswan, and Surendra Diler.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present at the swearing-in ceremony. Additionally, existing junior ministers Ajit Singh Pal and Somendra Tomar were elevated to ministers of state with independent charge.
Strategic Outreach to Backwards
Three of the newly inducted ministers—Bhupendra Chaudhary, Hansraj Vishwakarma, and Kailash Rajput—belong to the OBC category. This move is widely seen as the BJP's effort to counter the SP's 'PDA' narrative, which was credited for the BJP's Lok Sabha tally dropping to 33 seats in 2024 from 62 in 2019. Both promoted ministers, Tomar and Pal, also come from backward communities. Tomar belongs to the Gujjar community, a significant votebank in certain western Uttar Pradesh seats, while Pal belongs to the Pal community, which has a strong presence in the Kanpur and Agra regions.
Background of New Ministers
Among the new inductees, Chaudhary and Vishwakarma are members of the Legislative Council, while the other four are members of the Legislative Assembly. The expansion underscores the BJP's focus on social engineering to consolidate its support base ahead of the crucial assembly elections.
