Yogi Adityanath was sworn in for his second tenure as Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Friday, 25 March in Lucknow at Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. Let’s look at his new cabinet:
Deputy Chief Ministers
Keshav Prasad Maurya: One of the most prominent OBC leaders in BJP, Maurya is a member of the UP Legislative Council. He lost the election from Sirathu in the Kaushambi district.
Brajesh Pathak: He is MLA from Lucknow Cantt assembly constituency. He was minister of Legislative, Justice, Rural Engineering service in last Yogi Government. Pathak is one of the most prominent Brahmin faces from the Awadh area and is known for his fiery attitude. He had been a member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha also.
Cabinet Ministers
Suresh Kumar Khanna: Nine-time MLA, Khanna belongs to the Khatri community and had been a minister for Finance and Parliamentary Affairs. He is MLA from Shahjahanpur and has been MLA since 1989.
Surya Pratap Shahi: He is MLA from the Patherdeva assembly constituency. The Bhumihar leader was the agriculture minister in Yogi Government 2017-22. He had been a minister earlier in the Kalyan Singh government as well.
Swatandra Dev Singh: A member of the Legislative Council, Singh is state president of BJP in UP. The prominent Kurmi leader was appointed state president in 2019. He was also the transport minister in the Yogi government.
Baby Rani Maurya: She is MLA from Agra Rural. A prominent Jatav face of BJP in the state, she has been governor of Uttarakhand. Earlier, she also served as mayor of Agra for five years and was national vice president of BJP.
Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan Singh: He is a five-time MLA from the Chhata assembly segment in Mathura. He was minister for Animal Husbandry in the last Yogi Government. Chaudhary belongs to the influential Jat community and has been a minister in three BJP governments.
Jaiveer Singh: He is an MLA from the Mainpuri Sadar assembly constituency. Singh, a prominent Rajput leader, is a third-time MLA and has been a minister in governments led by Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav also in the past.
Dharampal Singh: He is MLA from the Aonla assembly constituency in Bareilly district. The Lodh leader is a five-time MLA and served as a minister under Kalyan Singh, Rajnath Singh, and Yogi Adityanath in the past.
Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’: A prominent businessman, Nandi is a third-term MLA. He has won the Prayagraj South assembly constituency. He served as a cabinet minister in Yogi Government 2017-22. His wife is mayor of Prayagraj.
Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary: The prominent Jat leader is a member of the UP Legislative Council. He was minister for Panchayat Raj in the last Yogi Government. He has been active in politics for the last three decades and has served in the BJP organisation also.
Anil Rajbhar: He is MLA from Shivpuri in Varanasi district. He is a second-term MLA and had been Minister of Divyangjan Empowerment in the last Yogi Government. Anil has defeated the son of OP Rajbhar in this election.
Jitin Prasad: He is a member of the UP Legislative Council. Prasad, a Brahmin face, joined BJP recently and was made a minister in Yogi Government. He served as Minister of State (MoS) in the UPA government also.
Rakesh Sachan: He is MLA from Bhognipur in Kanpur district. Earlier, he was with Samajwadi Party (SP) and joined BJP before the 2022 elections. Sachan is a Kurmi leader who had been a Member of Parliament from Kanpur and an MLA for three terms.
Arvind Kumar Sharma: AK Sharma is an MLC and state vice president of BJP. He is a former IAS officer and is considered close to PM Narendra Modi.
Yogendra Upadhyaya: The Brahmin leader is the most surprising name in the new Yogi Cabinet. He is an MLA from the Agra South assembly constituency. Upadhyaya is a real estate player and won his third consecutive election in 2022.
Ashish Patel: He is president of Apna Dal, an alliance partner of BJP in UP. Ashish Patel comes from the Kurmi community and is the husband of union minister Anupriya Patel. He is a member of the UP Legislative Council and has been active in politics for the last two decades.
Sanjay Nishad: He is president of the Nishad Party founded in 2016. He is an MLC and his son Praveen Nishad is a Member of Parliament. Nishad Party has six MLAs in the UP assembly.
Ministers of State (MoS)
Nitin Agrawal: Son of SP leader Naresh Agrawal, he won as MLA from the Hardoi Assembly constituency. He had been a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government earlier.
Kapil Dev Aggarwal: He is a third-term MLA from Muzaffarnagar. He belongs to the Vaishya community.
Ravindra Jaiswal: He is a second-term MLA from Varanasi North Assembly constituency. He belongs to the Vaishya community.
Sandeep Singh: He is MLA from Atrauli and belongs to OBC - Lodh Community. He is the grandson of former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and his father Rajveer Singh is a BJP MP.
Gulab Devi: She is an MLA from the Chandausi assembly constituency in Sambhal district. She belongs to the dhobi community and is a fifth-term MLA. She was minister for Secondary Education in Yogi Government earlier.
Girish Chandra Yadav: He is a second-term MLA from Jaunpur.
Dharmaveer Prajapati: He is an MLC and had been a minister in Yogi Government earlier. He belongs to the OBC community.
Aseem Arun: An ex-IPS officer, he is a first-time MLA from Kannauj. His father had been DGP of UP. He belongs to the Jatav community.
Dayashankar Singh: He is state vice president of BJP and a first-time MLA from Balia. His wife Swati Singh was a minister in Yogi Government earlier.
Naresh Kashyap: He is president of the OBC wing in UP BJP. He is not a member of any house in the UP assembly. He would have to become an MLC within six months of swearing-in.
Dinesh Pratap Singh: He is a BJP MLC and a prominent face from Raebareli. Earlier he was a Congress leader.
Dr. Arun Kumar Saxena: He is an MLA from Bareilly and belongs to the Kayasth community. He is considered close to senior BJP leader Santosh Gangwar.
Dr Daya Shankar Mishra 'Dayalu': A prominent leader from the Brahmin Community in the Purvanchal area, Dayalu is not a member of any house in the UP assembly. He would have got elected as an MLC within six months' time.
Mayankeshwar Singh: The royal scion of Tiloi is a fourth term MLA. Earlier he was with Samajwadi Party.
Dinesh Khatik: He is a second-term MLA from Hastinapur in the Meerut district. He belongs to the Khatik community and had fought for his first election in 2017. He is considered the most promising face of BJP in the upcoming generation of leaders.
Baldev Singh Aulakh: He is MLA from Bilaspur and has been active in politics for the last two decades.
Sanjeev Gaur: He is MLA from Obra Assembly constituency in Sonbhadra District. He was earlier MoS for SC-ST welfare. The Dalit leader is a second-term MLA.
Jaswant Saini: He is chairperson of the UP OBC Commission and is currently not a member of any house of the Assembly. He comes from Saharanpur district. Saini will have to get elected as MLC within six months' time.
Rakesh Rathore ‘Guru’: He is MLA from Sitapur. He started his career with a cycle repair workshop before joining politics.
Rajni Tiwari: She is MLA from Shahabad in the Hardoi district. Tiwari is a fourth-term MLA and was earlier with BSP. She belongs to the Brahmin community and is the wife of ex-MLA Upendra Tiwari.
Vijay Laxmi Gautam: She is a first-time MLA from Salempur in the Deoria district. She belongs to the Jatav community and was district vice president of the women's wing. She was earlier with SP.
(Translated from Quint Hindi by Arvind Singh.)
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