Yogi expands Cabinet with an eye on 2027
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet expanded on Sunday with the induction of two ministers and four ministers of state, while two junior ministers were elevated and given independent charges. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath to the new ministers at the Gandhi Auditorium of Jan Bhavan, filling the six vacancies in the Council of Ministers.
The move is seen as a significant political recalibration by the BJP ahead of the 2027 UP Assembly elections. With this expansion, the Yogi Adityanath-led Council of Ministers has reached the maximum 60 ministers permitted constitutionally. The Council of Ministers now consists of 60 members, including the CM, two deputy CMs, 18 Cabinet ministers, 16 ministers of State with independent charge, and 24 ministers of State. The expansion is being seen as an important political message ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, with the BJP focusing on balancing caste representation across key social groups.
On Sunday, Bhupendra Chaudhury and Manoj Pandey took oath as Cabinet ministers, while Krishna Paswan, Surendra Diler, Hansraj Vishwakarma and Kailash Singh Rajput were sworn in as ministers of State. Ministers of State Ajit Singh Pal and Somendra Tomar were promoted by giving them independent charges.
Chaudhary, a Jat leader from western UP, is former State BJP president and a member of the Legislative Council, earlier served as Cabinet minister for the Panchayat Department. Pandey is a defector from the Samajwadi Party and MLA from the Unchahar Assembly constituency in Raebareli district. Paswan, a Dalit leader, is an MLA from Khaga constituency in Fatehpur district. Diler is MLA from Khair in Aligarh district, Rajput from Tirwa in Kannauj district, while Vishwakarma is a member of the Legislative Council.
The development comes at a politically crucial time for the ruling BJP, which is looking to consolidate its social coalition after the setbacks it faced in Uttar Pradesh during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The party is expected to use the cabinet expansion to send a message to key caste groups and regions ahead of the next state election battle. The last Cabinet expansion in the State was held on March 5, 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections held in May-June 2024.
Also present at the oath-taking were, Union Minister of State for Finance and BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary, BJP general secretary (organisation) Dharampal, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak and other senior party leaders.
