In Uttar Pradesh, BJP bets on newer entrants over old loyalists

A majority of the members of Yogi's newly formed cabinet joined the BJP after its 2014 sweep in the Lok Sabha polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Yogi Adityanath and other leaders during the oath ceremony at Atal Bihari Ekana Stadium. Credit; IANS Photo

After a comfortable victory in Uttar Pradesh that boosted the stature of CM Yogi Adityanath within the saffron party, the BJP's strategic picks for the state cabinet clearly show its vision set on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Analysis of the newly formed cabinet shows that a majority of the ministers joined the BJP after its 2014 sweep in general elections.

According to an Indian Express report, seven of the 16 Cabinet ministers have been supporters of the Sangh parivaar since the 1980s. This number was much higher in the 2017 Assembly Elections wherein 16 of 22 cabinet berths were given to long-time supporters.

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The new state government inducted 52 ministers into the fold on March 25 along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, of which 31 are new faces while 21 are experienced heads. The saffron party seemed to have kept caste and regional aspirations in mind to maintain the state as its stronghold.

Keshav Prasad Maurya, who failed to win his seat in the assembly polls, has been made a deputy CM again. Outgoing law minister Brajesh Pathak too was sworn in as a deputy chief minister, replacing Dinesh Sharma of the previous Adityanath cabinet. Nine cabinet-rank ministers in the previous ministry were dropped, including Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma. Twenty-one of the 52 ministers – excluding the CM – are from the upper castes, seven of them Brahmins.

Two of the nine remaining cabinet ministers are BJP alllies — Ashish patel from Apna Dal and Sanjay Nishad from the Nishad Party — while the rest joined the party only after 2015, the IE analysis showed.

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The BJP-led alliance had won 273 of 403 seats in the UP Assembly polls. While the BJP got 255 seats, its allies Nishad Party and the Apna Dal (S) bagged 18.

This is the first time in over three decades that a party has won the assembly elections twice in a row in the crucial state.

Twenty-one of the 52 ministers – excluding the CM – are from the upper castes, seven of them Brahmins.

Twenty are from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), nine are Dalits and one each from the Muslim and the Sikh communities.

There can be a maximum of 60 ministers including the chief minister in Uttar Pradesh under the constitutional provisions.

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