UP elections: Adityanath’s cabinet to be expanded

Tribune News Service
New Delhi/Lucknow, September 26

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath’s cabinet will be expanded to include some more ministers in a ceremony scheduled for later this evening, officials said.

A swearing-in ceremony has been scheduled at the Gandhi auditorium in Raj Bhavan at 5:30 pm, officials told PTI but refused to say who would be included.

Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party, however, said former Congressman Jitin Prasada is a contender for a post in the Cabinet. Seven more ministers, Prasada among them, are likely to be in the cabinet, sources said.

Prasada switched over to the BJP from the Congress in June.

Among other names of possible inductees is Sanjay Nishad, whose NISHAD (Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) party will contest the elections with the BJP.

The UP cabinet currently has 53 ministers, and, constitutionally, only seven more could be added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to hold a meeting with senior ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, say party sources.

— With PTI