UP CM Yogi Adityanath effects major reshuffle of portfolios, keeps home
After the expansion of his cabinet, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath also changed portfolios of senior ministers, swapping some important departments and even giving lesser significant ones to some, keeping in mind their performance.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday effected a major reshuffle in portfolios of his 56-member team, keeping 37 major departments, including home, with him, giving finance to Suresh Khanna and appointing elevated minister Mahendra Singh as in charge of the newly-created Jal Shakti department that would take care of irrigation and Namami Gange departments.
Yogi also changed portfolios of senior ministers, swapping some important departments and even giving lesser significant ones to some, keeping in mind their performance.
Besides Suresh Khanna and Mahendra Singh, Ashutosh Tandon and Jai Pratap Singh have been rewarded with important portfolios.
No changes, however, have been made in portfolios of many ministers, who include two deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, minister for agriculture Surya Pratap Shahi and minister for labour Swami Prasad Maurya.
Urban development department, held by parliamentary affairs and now finance minister, too, Suresh Khanna up till now, has been given to Ashutosh Tandon.
Minister for medical and health Siddharthnath Singh now becomes minister for khadi and village industry, textiles, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and NRI departments. Minister for industry Satish Mahana had held these departments.
Jai Pratap Singh, who earlier held charge of excise department, has been made minister for medical and health, family welfare, mother and child welfare.
Chetan Chauhan has been shifted from sports and made minister for soldier welfare, home guards, PRD and civil defence departments.
Minister for law and justice Brijesh Pathak has been given additional charge of rural engineering service department while additional energy sources department has been taken away from him.
Ram Naresh Agnihotri and Kamla Rani Varun, the two new faces in cabinet, have been given excise and technical education departments, respectively. Upendra Tiwari, as minister of state (independent charge), has been given sports and youth welfare while water supply and land reforms departments have been taken away from him.
Minister of state (independent charge) Swati Singh has been moved from NRI and flood control departments and she now retains women welfare and child welfare portfolios.
Neelkanth Tiwari, who comes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, becomes minister of state (independent charge) for tourism, culture, religious endowment departments following his promotion and will remain attached to chief minister as minister of state for protocol.
Yogi held the charge of tourism department up till now. Another minister of state (independent charge) for Ayush, Dharam Singh Saini, would remain attached to the chief minister as minister of state for food and drug administration.
New faces inducted as ministers of state (independent charge) include Ashok Kataria, who has been given charge of transport department, a department that BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh held as minister of state (independent charge). He has now resigned from the ministry.
Sri Ram Chauhan has been given horticulture and agriculture marketing while Ravendra Jaiswal, who also comes from Varanasi, becomes in charge of stamps and registration departments.
