After returning to the Akhilesh Yadav Cabinet after a brief hiatus of six days, Balram Yadav retained the Secondary Education department as the CM allocated portfolios to four new ministers and assigned new jobs to two in lucknow on Wednesday.

A communiqué from the Raj Bhawan said that Governor Ram Naik had approved the new portfolios as suggested by the Chief Minister.

Balram Yadav was Secondary Education Minister when he was unceremoniously shown the door for his alleged role in the merger of Quami Ekta Dal with the Samajwadi Party on June 22. But on Monday last, he was sworn in again as a Cabinet minister after SP's Parliamentary Board rescinded the merger. 

Thus, Balram Yadav probably became the only minister of UP, who was sacked and then reinstated within a short span of six days.

Narad Rai, another minister who made a comeback in the Akhilesh Yadav government, would be Science and Technology Minister replacing Manoj Pandey. The latter was sacked hours before Rai was sworn in as minister. A year back, Rai was dropped from the ministry for non-performance. He was then heading Khadi and Village Development department. 

Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ravidas Mehrotra has been given the charge of Family Planning and Mother and Child Welfare department while Sharda Pratap Shukla, another Minister of State with independent charge, will head the Higher Education department.

Both Mehrotra and Shukla are first time ministers and are legislators from lucknow.

Textile and Sericulture Minister Mehboob Ali has been given additional responsibility of Statistics, Vocational Education and Skill Development departments. 

Besides Sports, Youth Welfare, Integrated Rural Development and Externally-aided Projects Minister Ram Karan Arya has been given additional charge of Excise department.

All these new departments allocated to the two new ministers and the additional charges were hitherto with the Chief Minister.