As Yogi Adityanath took oath as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister for a historic second consecutive time on Friday, 25 March, Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak were sworn in as the deputy chief ministers of the state.
The two deputies were among 52 ministers who took oath on Friday alongside Adityanath.
Maurya has been retained as the deputy CM despite having lost the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh election from the Sirathu Assembly constituency to Pallavi Patel by a margin of 7,337 votes.
Meanwhile Dinesh Sharma, who did not contest the Assembly polls, has been replaced with Brajesh Pathak as the second deputy chief minister of the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Lucknow for the mammoth ceremony on Friday afternoon. Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda, and the chief ministers of several BJP-ruled states were also among the attendees at the swearing-in ceremony.
Why the Decision to Retain Maurya?
Post elections, rumours in certain sections of the media indicated that Maurya's fate was hanging in the balance and that he might not be considered for the upcoming cabinet. He, however, silenced his critics after he was again designated as one of the Yogi's deputy.
The decision is in sync with the BJP's decision to not punish senior leaders who lost in the Assembly elections. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lost from the Khatima seat but was still chosen for the top post. Similarly, Maurya losing from Sirathu did not damage his ministerial ambitions.
Experts believe this decision has been taken keeping in mind the 2024 general elections. Maurya is a senior OBC leader and his role holds special importance after the exit of other OBC leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya and Om Prakash Rajbhar from the party.
What About Brajesh Pathak?
Brajesh Pathak has been elevated and will now be the other deputy chief minister of the state, replacing his former cabinet colleague Dinesh Sharma who has been shown the door.
This is again seen as the party's attempt to further consolidate its support among the Brahmin community.
Pathak, who has kept a low profile in the earlier cabinet, where he was Law Minister, is considered one of the most accessible ministers in Adityanath's government.
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