New Delhi: After BJP got a mandate in Uttar Pradesh in the recently concluded assembly elections, it is clear that Yogi Adityanath will become the CM again. However, what is not confirmed yet is if he will again have Deputy CMs this time.
During his last regime, he had two Dy CMs that were Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma. Maurya belonged to the OBC category and Sharma was from the Brahmin community.
It is evident that Sharma will not be a part of Yogi’s cabinet this time as he did not contest this election. Rather, he could be given some other responsibility at the national level.
The other Dy CM, Keshav Prasad Maurya has lost the election, but the party may give him some other responsibility.
As the BJP eyes the 2024 general elections, the cabinet will be formed with proper distribution among all castes. Some of the seniors in the party want BJP Head in UP, Swatantra Dev Singh to be made the Dy CM in the state.
Singh belongs to the Kurmi community and he could be given the responsibility as the Dy CM. And Maurya would probably be given the responsibility of BJP’s state head. The final decision will be taken in Delhi.
On Sunday morning, Yogi Adityanath will reach Delhi where he will meet BJP’s national head, JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He will also meet BJP General Secretary BS Santosh.
UP BJP Head Swatantra Dev Singh and Party Secretary Sunil Bansal have also been called to Delhi. The marathon meeting of tomorrow will probably finalise the date for the oath-taking ceremony as well as the UP cabinet.
There are also rumors that Baby Rani Maurya could be made Deputy CM. Maurya has served as the Governor of Uttarakhand and currently is serving as the national vice president of BJP. She belongs to the Jatav community and has been elected from the Agra which is considered as the stronghold of Dalit voters.
By using Maurya, BJP eyes on Mayawati’s Jatav vote bank as BSP is relatively weak right now. According to a survey by CSDS, 21 percent of the people from the Jatav community have voted for BJP.
The votes from this community can add significantly to BJP’s votes in the 2024 elections. Asim Arun who belongs to this community has also been elected for the first time from Kannauj.
Arun was Commissioner of Kanpur before entering politics. He had nine years of his service left before joining politics. There are chances of Arun getting placed in the new Yogi cabinet.
If Yogi Adityanath will have three or four Dy CMs, the one name in that can be of Brajesh Pathak as well. He could replace Dinesh Sharma as he has always been upfront about the demands of Brahmins.
He is also in the good books of Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and even Rajnath Singh. He has been elected from Lucknow Cantt. He has been vocal against the state government a few times.
Daya Shankar Singh, who has been elected from Balliya can also be chosen in the cabinet. He has been a veteran of the BJP and his wife Swati Singh was also a minister in the Yogi government.
This time, both Anand Swaroop Shukl and Upendra Tiwari have lost from the Balliya seat, which increases Dayashankar Singh’s chances as he has been close to Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, and even Dharmendra Pradhan.
According to sources, Rajnath Singh’s son, Pankaj Singh could also be made a minister in the UP cabinet. He has won for the second time from Noida.
Apart from these, some shocking faces from the OBC and SC community could get a ministry this time, especially from the seats where the party either performed too well or too bad.
Ministers like Mahendra Singh, Siddharth Nath, and Shreekant Sharma could get re-appointed to the cabinet.
A senior leader in the party said that there is also a possibility that there would be no Dy CMs this time and the VIP candidates would be given important ministries.