Yogi Cabinet expansion on the cards, will bring in RLD, SBSP

With the formal announcement of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) joining the NDA slated to happen soon, there are strong indications of an expansion of the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet and Council of Ministers to accommodate the new ally.

In what is being seen as a sign that such an expansion is on the cards, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader Om Prakash Rajbhar met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday. The CM himself met Governor Anandiben Patel twice during the day.

Highly placed sources in the state government said that once the RLD’s alliance with the BJP is formally announced, the Cabinet expansion that follows will not just see an RLD nominee but also Rajbhar being sworn in as a Cabinet minister. The expansion is also likely to see an additional minister being sworn in from the BJP. There is also strong buzz that the Council of Ministers as a whole will be expanded further, with one or two ministers of state also sworn in.

“We cannot tell the name of the person from the RLD who will be made a minister. Once Jayant Chaudhary formally becomes an NDA ally, he will select his party’s nominee or nominees. This will be the next step after the formal announcement of an alliance,” said the source.

The BJP is also expected to leave two seats for the RLD for the Lok Sabha elections and one seat for the SBSP, along with one-two seats for the Apna Dal and a seat for the Nishad Party.