After about three months of deliberations in UP, the second expansion of Yogi-II’s cabinet was finally completed, putting an end to all the speculations. Due to this, while the government and the BJP organization have tried to maintain caste and regional balance, at the same time, they have also solved the caste arithmetic through the Hindutva agenda for the assembly elections to be held in 2027. At the same time, with the help of this brief extension, BJP will prepare the ground for a strong siege for the opposition by cutting the PDA formula of SP.
If we look at the entire cabinet including the new members, we will find that there is a hidden indication of BJP moving forward in the struggle of twenty-seven by keeping the unity of Hindutva at the center with the help of unity of castes. The first attempt seems to be to strengthen Hindutva by doing the mathematics of castes. The way the cabinet has been expanded without any major changes and the faces that have been included show that the BJP leadership has decided to enter the upcoming assembly elections in the state with a message of trust and unity.
Many kinds of discussions have been going on about some ministers, but if any minister already in the cabinet has not been teased, then the main reason for that is that by doing so, BJP has tried to give the message that there is nothing wrong in the cabinet and all such allegations of the opposition are wrong.
BJP has also tried to convey the message through expansion that while the PDA has been prepared with new faces, an attempt has been made to remove the resentment of Brahmins by including Manoj Pandey. Also, a message has been given to pay attention to the elders.
By including Bhupendra Chaudhary, Kailash Rajput and Hansraj Vishwakarma and by promoting Ajit Singh Pal and Somendr Tomar as Ministers of State with independent charge, a message has been given about respectful representation of backward classes in BJP and respect for their concerns. Also, by making Krishna Paswan and Surendra Diler ministers, a message has been given to take proper care of the share of the Dalit class. Above all, this expansion seems to be taking forward the BJP’s policy of ‘if you divide, you will be cut’. In this expansion, more than trying to achieve caste and regional balance, an attempt is also being made to unite Hindus.
25 OBC and 10 Dalit faces
In terms of electoral expansion, backward communities have the highest representation in the Yogi cabinet. After the inclusion of three members of backward castes in the expansion, their number has now become 25 and the number of ministers from Dalit community has become 10.
- In the 60-member cabinet, there are now 21 ministers from the general category, 2 from the minority category and one from the Scheduled Tribe category.
Council of Ministers quota completed
After the second expansion, the quota of the Council of Ministers was completed. Under the 15 percent rule, there can be 60 ministers apart from the CM in the 403-member Assembly. Six seats in the Council of Ministers were vacant for a long time.
- The first expansion of the cabinet took place in March 2024. Apart from the CM and Deputy CM, there are 20 cabinet ministers in the cabinet. There are 16 Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 21 Ministers of State.
Akhilesh’s PDA cut in cabinet expansion
SP President Akhilesh Yadav has been playing the game of PDA i.e. backward, Dalit and minority communities since the last Lok Sabha elections. It is believed that there is a strategy to blunt the edge of Akhilesh’s PDA by including 4 members of backward and Dalit community in the latest expansion. Having more than half of the ministers in Team Yogi from these two classes also shows that BJP is taking PDA seriously and does not want to make any mistake.
- Akhilesh said, when the BJP government could not do anything for the people of the state in 9 years, then what will these ministers do in the last 9 months. He alleged that the government has broken all records of corruption, inflation and unemployment. PDA is being treated unfairly under the BJP government.
After administering the oath to the new ministers, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has heartily congratulated all the ministers who took oath as ministers through the official Twitter handle.
- He has written that he has full confidence that in the spirit of nation first, all the ministers will give new impetus to the development journey of Uttar Pradesh with the resolutions of public service and good governance. CM has wished a bright future for all the new ministers.