UP: Yogi Adityanath's cabinet expansion on cards

There are six vacancies after two ministers - Chetan Chauhan and Kamla Kumari Varun - died in Coronavirus.

The expansion is expected after completion of the biennial polls to 11 graduate and teacher constituencies of the state legislative council by December 10.

Sources in the government here on Monday said that CM was prepared for a small expansion any time after approval from the Central command.

Presently, there are 54 members in the Yogi Adityanath ministry and there are six vacancies.

There are 23 cabinets, nine state ministers with independent charge and 22 state ministers.

Sources said that CM could induct around four to five new ministers and can even promote some of the state ministers to the cabinet rank. But caste factor will be the main criteria for selection of the new ministers with Brahmin and backward leaders could get prominence.

The new MLAs who were elected in the bypolls recently could also be considered in the expansion.

There is also a possibility of some ministers being dropped as Yogi Adityanath was not satisfied with their performance.

In the last expansion held in August 2019, Yogi Adityanath had expanded his ministry by including 18 new ministers and promoting five existing ones.

During the expansion, the CM dropped five ministers, including the senior party leader and finance minister Rajesh Agarwal, irrigation minister Dharampal Singh, primary education minister Anupuma Jaiswal and Excise minister Ms Archana Pandey.

Transport minister Swantra Deo Singh too resigned after becoming state BJP president.