UP: 23 MLAs take oath in first Yogi's cabinet reshuffle

Lucknow, Aug 21: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday expanded his council of ministers with 23 ministers taking oath at the Raj Bhavan. This is the first rejig of Yogi's council of ministers since he came to power in 2017. UP Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office in the presence of the chief minister.

Four ministers of state with independent charge were promoted as cabinet ministers, while two new faces, Ram Naresh Agnihotri and Kamla Rani Varun, joined as cabinet ministers.

Six ministers of state with independent charge were inducted. The two-and-a-half year-old BJP ministry will also have 11 new ministers of state.

Three of the 47 ministers are Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Satyadev Pachauri and S P Singh Baghel who were elected to the Lok Sabha in May. Another minister, O P Rajbhar, who heads the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, was sacked for causing embarrassment to the BJP-led government.

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, a BJP leader said.

There had been speculation over the reshuffle during the past few days.

The chief minister called on Governor Anandiben Patel on Saturday, a day after he met BJP president Amit Shah in Delhi, triggering talk of a possible reshuffle any day.