When Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called on Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday evening, it gave credence to the speculation about possibility of reshuffle or expansion of the Uttar Pradesh Ministry.
The Chief Minister was on an inspection tour of districts for last three days and returned to Lucknow on Thursday at 6 pm and an hour later he drove down to the Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Anandiben Patel, who is also in charge of Madhya Pradesh, and had suddenly returned to Lucknow on Thursday from Bhopal.
Anandiben Patel went to Bhopal on May 10 and was slated to stay there till Saturday next. The sudden arrival of the Governor in Lucknow and her meeting with Yogi Adityanath was seen as a step toward finalising details of reshuffle in the Ministry.
Raj Bhawan officials, however, said it was a routine meeting.
Incidentally, the speculation about the expansion and reshuffle in Yogi Cabinet was in the air after the recent meeting of Sar Karyawah of RSS Datttraya Hosbole with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, senior BJP leaders in Delhi and in-house meeting in Lucknow.
The centre of the speculation is Arvind Kumar Sharma, a close aide of Modi, who was made MLC in January this year. There is speculation he might be included in the Yogi Government and given a prominent position.
After the formation of Yogi Adityanath Government in the State on March 19, 2017, the Cabinet was extended on August 22, 2019. There were 56 members in his Cabinet. After three Ministers Vijay Kumar Kashyap, Chetan Chauhan and Kamala Rani Varun, died due to coronavirus infection, the strength of the Ministry came down to 53.
As maximum number of Ministers in the State Cabinet can be up to 60, there is a vacancy of seven seats in the UP Cabinet.
At present, there are 22 Cabinet Ministers, 9 Independent charge Ministers and 22 Ministers of State in the Yogi Cabinet.
With the Assembly election just around seven months left, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath can bet on the political equation by adding some new people to his Government. There is speculation that one of the deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya could be made BJP State chief and few other Ministers could be sent back to party organisation.
“Balancing the caste would be a big challenge for the Chief Minister, if he goes for reshuffling,” said a senior BJP leader.