The cabinet of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh underwent an expansion on Sunday. During the oath-taking ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Lucknow, Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office to Bhupendra Chaudhary, Krishna Paswan, Hansraj Vishwakarma, Manoj Pandey, Kailash Rajput, and Surendra Diler as new ministers. In this significant expansion, Bhupendra Chaudhary and Manoj Pandey took oath as Cabinet Ministers, while Krishna Paswan, Kailash Singh Rajput, Hansraj Vishwakarma, and Surendra Diler were sworn in as Ministers of State. On top of that, Somendra Tomar and Ajit Singh Pal were also inducted as Ministers of State (Independent Charge).
Key Highlights of the Cabinet Expansion
Profiles of the Newly Appointed Ministers
Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary is a former UP BJP State President and a prominent Jat leader from Western Uttar Pradesh. A resident of Moradabad, he has been an MLC since 2016 and previously served as the Panchायती Raj Minister. Manoj Pandey, the MLA from Unchahar in Raebareli, is a prominent Brahmin leader from the Awadh and Purvanchal regions. He was a cabinet minister in the SP government (2012-17) and served as the SP Chief Whip in the Assembly. Krishna Paswan is a 4-time MLA from Khaga (Fatehpur) and is considered a reliable Dalit face of the BJP. Surendra Diler, the MLA from Khair (Aligarh), is the son of former MP Rajveer Singh Diler. Hansraj Vishwakarma is an MLC from Varanasi with 34 years of political experience, and Kailash Singh Rajput is the MLA from Tirwa (Kannauj), representing the backward classes.
Strategic Balancing of Caste and Gender
The expansion aims to balance Brahmin, Dalit, and OBC equations ahead of the 2027 elections. With Manoj Pandey's induction, the Brahmin quota seat vacated by Jitin Prasad has been filled, bringing the total number of Brahmin ministers to seven, including Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak. By inducting Surendra Diler and Krishna Paswan, the government seeks to consolidate its support among the Dalit community, especially across the 86 reserved seats in the state. Also, the inclusion of Krishna Paswan increases the number of women ministers in the Yogi government to five, addressing representation among the 51 women MLAs in the UP Assembly.
Representation of Backward Classes and Allies
The OBC category is already well-represented by Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya and cabinet ministers like Swatantra Dev Singh, Dharampal Singh, Rakesh Sachan, Anil Rajbhar, Dara Singh Chauhan, and Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan, while allies such as Ashish Patel, Om Prakash Rajbhar, and Sanjay Nishad also belong to the backward classes. In Sunday's expansion, three more OBC faces—Bhupendra Chaudhary (Jat), Hansraj Vishwakarma, and Kailash Rajput—were added. This reshuffle followed CM Yogi Adityanath's meeting with Governor Anandiben Patel, ending long-standing speculations about the ministerial changes required for the upcoming political challenges.