UP cabinet expansion: Bhupendra Chaudhary gets MSME charge, Samadiwadi rebel food
A week after the Uttar Pradesh cabinet expansion, the newly inducted and elevated ministers were assigned portfolios on Sunday. The allotment completes the 10 May exercise under Yogi Adityanath 2.0 and sets departments for all those included.
A week after the expansion of the Uttar Pradesh cabinet, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday allocated portfolios to the newly inducted and promoted ministers, according to an official statement.
The portfolio distribution follows the second cabinet expansion of the Yogi Adityanath 2.0 government, which took place on May 10. During the reshuffle, two cabinet ministers and four ministers of state were inducted into the government, while two ministers of state were elevated to ministers of state with independent charge.
Among the newly inducted cabinet ministers, former BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary was assigned the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) department. Manoj Kumar Pandey, a former Samajwadi Party leader who rebelled against his party, was allotted the food and civil supplies department.
The government also assigned portfolios to Ajit Pal Singh and Somendra Tomar, who were promoted as ministers of state with independent charge during the cabinet expansion. Ajit Pal Singh was given the food security and drug administration department along with political pension, while Somendra Tomar was entrusted with the Sainik Kalyan and Prantiya Raksha Dal department.
The four newly inducted ministers of state were also allocated departments. Krishna Paswan was given the animal husbandry and dairy development department, Surendra Diler was assigned the revenue department, Hansraj Vishwakarma was attached to the MSME ministry, and Kailash Rajput was allotted the energy and additional energy sources department.
The cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation are being viewed as part of the BJP government’s strategy to strengthen caste and regional representation ahead of upcoming political challenges in the state.
With the latest allocations, all ministers inducted or promoted during the May 10 cabinet expansion have now officially assumed charge of their respective departments in the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Yogi Adityanath-led administration had earlier indicated that the cabinet reshuffle was aimed at improving governance, administrative efficiency and political balance within the government.