Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh chief minister by Governor T V Rajeshwar here on Sunday.
In addition, a 49-member Council of Ministers including 19 of cabinet rank and 21 ministers of state with independent charge was administered the oath of office and secrecy on the Raj Bhavan lawns.
The first to take oath after Mayawati was Naseemuddin Siddiqui, co-accused with the chief minister in the Taj Heritage Corridor case. He was followed by Ramveer Upadhyay, the party’s second-most prominent Brahmin face. State BSP chief Indrajeet Saroj, BJP turncoat Phagu Chauhan and leader of party in the 14th Vidhan Sabha Swami Prasad Maurya are the other important faces in the cabinet. Two women MLAs have also made it as ministers of state.
In keeping with Mayawati’s promise of an inclusive polity, seven Brahmins, six Thakurs, five Muslims and two Yadavs have found place in her ministry which also features young first-timers like advocate Nakul Dubey who has been rewarded for keeping the BSP flag afloat in Lucknow. 

100 transfers
Within hours of being sworn in, the new chief minister cracked the whip and effected the transfer of almost 100 officials.
Twelve Inspectors-General of Police and 26 Directors-General of Police were transferred, while Shashank Shekhar Singh was appointed cabinet secretary.
Seven vacancies have also arisen in the chief minister’s secretariat. Immediately after the 45-minute swearing-in ceremony, Mayawati addressed the media on her government’s priorities.
The axe fell swiftly. She said her first act as CM had been to keep in abeyance all decisions taken by her predecessor, Mulayam Singh Yadav, February onwards.
Also on the chopping block was the UP Development Council, as chairman of which Amar Singh had tendered his resignation on Saturday. Instead of the council, she said, there would be development policies based on people’s needs.
Dole to jobless out
The SP government’s much publicised unemployment dole was also done away with, on the promise of greater employment opportunities.
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