Yogi Adityanath To Reshuffle UP Cabinet Today; Over A Dozen New Ministers Likely To Take Oath

This will be the first cabinet reshuffle after Adityanath took charge in the state in March 2017, heading a 47-member ministry.

UP Cabinet Reshuffle: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will reshuffle his cabinet today. (ANI)

UP Cabinet Reshuffle: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will reshuffle his cabinet today. The first reshuffle of the Yogi Adityanath Ministry in the state,  which was earlier deferred amid concerns over the health condition of former Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley, will be held in the Raj Bhawan in Lucknow on Wednesday. The reshuffle, and the possible induction of new members, is likely to fill the slots that have fallen vacant in the last few months, particularly after some ministers got elected to the Lok Sabha. This will be the first cabinet reshuffle after Adityanath took charge in the state in March 2017, heading a 47-member ministry. It is also believed that this reshuffle will send out a strong message against corruption and non-performers. The BJP, through this reshuffle, wants to make it amply clear that under-performance and corruption will no longer be tolerated, reported IANS. The swearing-in ceremony of the new members in the UP Cabinet is slated to held in the Raj Bhawan in Lucknow on Wednesday. It has been speculated that between 10-12 ministers will take oath in Adityanath's new cabinet post reshuffle. Three to four ministers with independent charge are also expected to be sworn in. Some ministers are likely to be dropped, while some may have to undergo a change of portfolio. The ministers who are being dropped are the ones who have bene facing allegations since the past two and a half years, as per the report. CM Adityanath along with Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Swatantra Dev Singh had last met BJP working President JP Nadda in the national capital to decide the details of the reshuffle. Adityanath had also the newly appointed state Governor Anandiben Patel to inform her in this regard. The Yogi government has a total of 43 ministers, including the Chief Minister. There are 18 Cabinet Ministers, nine Ministers of State with Independent charge and 13 Ministers of State, including two Deputy Chief Ministers -- Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma. The maximum strength of the council of ministers can be 15 per cent of the Assembly's total strength. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly has 403 seats and hence, the state can have a maximum of 61 ministers, including the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, official sources said that the expansion and reshuffle was likely to take place later this week "if all goes well".