Within 72 hours after taking charge, Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi distributed portfolios among his 46 Ministers retaining Home and giving PWD to one of his deputies Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Another Deputy CM, Dinesh Sharma got Secondary and Higher Education department — the sector which is close to his heart. Interestingly, the important Finance department has gone to Rajesh Agarwal — the department which is generally retained by the Chief Minister.
Urban Development department has been given to another BJP heavyweight Suresh Khanna, who will also be Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
The Chief Minister who got the portfolios vetted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah has given important portfolios like Industrial Development to senior leader Satish Mahana while Sidhartha Nath Singh was given Medical and Health. Former BJP spokesman, Srikanth Sharma has been given the Power Ministry.
A senior BJP leader told The Pioneer that personal interest of Ministers was kept in mind before allocating portfolios. The Chief Minister had informally told Ministers about their role in governance and what exactly the Prime Minister expected from ‘Team UP’.
Governor Ram Naik has approved new portfolios given to the Ministers. There are 22 Cabinet, nine Ministers of State (Independent charge) and 13 Ministers of State in the Yogi Cabinet besides
two Deputy CMs.
According to a Press release issued from Raj Bhawan on Wednesday, the CM has retained at least 33 departments including Home, Information, Mining, Housing, Jail, Appointment and several others.
Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya has been given departments of PWD, Food Processing, Entertainment Tax and Public Enterprises while the other Deputy CM, Dinesh Sharma has been given departments of Secondary and Higher Education, Science and Technology and Electronics.
Surya Pratap Shahi has been given Agriculture, Agriculture education and research. He was the Excise Minister during Kalyan Singh’s tenure.
Seven time MlA from Shahajahanpur Suresh Khanna got Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development while Swami Prasad Maurya got labour and Employment and Proverty Alleviation. Maurya was Panchayati Raj and Parliamentary Affairs Minister during Mayawati’s regime when he was a BSP member.
Satish Mahana got Industrial Development while Rajesh Agarwal will be the Finance Minister. Rita Bahuguna Joshi will be Women’s Welfare, Family Welfare, Mother and Child Welfare and Tourism Minister while Dara Singh Chauhan has been given Forest and Environment, Zoo and Horticulture.
Dharampal Singh is Irrigation and Irrigation Engineering Minister, SP Singh Baghel has been made Animal Husbandry, Minor Irrigation and Fishery Minister, Satyadeo Pachauri has been given Khadi, Gramodyog, Silk, Textile, Micro, Minor and Medium enterprises and Export Promotion departments.
The Dalit face in the Yogi Cabinet Ramapati Shastri gets Social welfare, Schedule caste and Schedule Tribe Welfare Ministry while Jai Prakash Singh will be the new Excise and prohibition Minister.
Om Prakash Rajbhar has been made Backward Welfare and Handicapped Minister. Brijesh Pathak is the new law and Justice, Alternative Energy, Political pension Minister. laxmi Narain Chaudhury is Dairy development, Religious affairs, Culture and Minority welfare Minister. Formet cricket player Chetan Chauhan is now UP’s Sports and Youth Welfare, Vocational education, Skill Training Minister while Rajendra Pratap Singh has been made the Minister of Rural Engineering Services.
Sidharthnath Singh will be the new Health Minister, Mukut Bihari Verma will be Co-operative Minister, Ashutosh Tandon Technical and Medical Education Minister while Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi will be Stamp and Registration, Civil Aviation Minister.
Among 13 Ministers of State, Anupama Jaiswal has been given Basic Education and ICDS and Finance, Suresh Rana will be Cane Development Minister and also hold MoS Charge of Industrail Development, Upendra Tiwari will be MoS with Forest department but will have independent charge in Water Resources and land development.
Mahendra Singh will be Rural Development Minister with additional charge of Medical and Health. Swatentra Deo Singh will be Transport Minister and will be MoS in Power Ministry. Bhupendra Singh Chauhan gets Panchayati Raj and will assist Keshav Prasad Maurya in PWD department while Dharma Singh Saini will be Ayush Minister.
Anil Rajbhar will be Sainik Kalyan, Food Processing, Home Guard and PRD Minister while Swati Singh will be NRI, Flood Control, Agriculture marketing Minister as well as will be MoS in Women’s Welfare, Mother and Child Welfare department.
Among the Ministers of State Gulabo Devi will be Minister in Social Welfare, SC/ST Welfare ministry, Jaiprakash Nishad will be deputy in Fisheries and Estate department, Archana Pandey is MoS in Mining and Prohibition and Jai Prakash Singh Jaiki will be deputy Minister in Jail.
Atul Garg is MoS in Food and Civil Supplies Ministry, Ranvendra Pratap Singh gets Agriculture, Neelkanth Tiwari gets law, Information and Sports while Mohsin Raza is Muslim Waqf and Haj Minister besides being MoS in Science and Technology Ministry.
Girish Yadav is deputy Minister in Urban development, Baleo Alakh is Minority welfare and Irrigation Minister, Mannu Kori is labour Minister while Kalyan Singh’s grandson Sandeep Singh is MoS in basic, secondary, higher and technical education. Suresh Pasi is MoS in Housing and Vocational education.