NEW DELHI: The BJP’s defeat in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections and rising voices of dissent appear to have prompted Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to go in for a Cabinet expansion-cum-reshuffle to include more caste representatives. BJP chief Amit Shah is learnt to have held wide consultations with key leaders, including the chief minister, on the impending Cabinet reshuffle, which is likely after the legislative council bypolls on April 24.
Four UP ministers — Dara Singh Chouhan, Swami Prasad Mourya, Rita Behuguna and Anil Rajbhar — met the BJP chief at the party headquarters on Monday. Recently, the UP CM had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which a host of issues were discussed. “The Adityanath government has completed one year. The performance appraisal of ministers and their ministries had long been overdue. Consultations are being undertaken since the BJP is readying for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” said a senior BJP leader.
In the wake of the bypoll debacle in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, the BJP chief had held a number of review meetings, which were also attended by the party’s state in-charge Om Mathur and state general secretary Sunil Bansal.
A key aide of the CM said that the party is seeking to make adjustments on regional and caste representation in the Cabinet. “The possibility of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samajwadi Party in the Lok Sabha elections is also weighing high for the top brass of the party. The possible Mahagathbandhan would necessitate caste and regional re-adjustments, which need to be reflected in the state Cabinet. Therefore, the Cabinet reshuffle could take place on any day after the legislative council bypolls on April 24,” sources in the party said.