Cabinet expansion on the cards in Uttar Pradesh; RLD, SBSP & rebel SP MLAs likely to get in

Days after it sprung a surprise by winning extra seat in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Aditiyanath-led BJP government is likely to expland its cabinet in the next couple of days.

The cabinet is likely to to accommodate legislators the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) -- which joined the NDA recently -- as well as Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar.

The BJP government may inlcude at least one of the seven rebel legislators of the Samajwadi Party (SP), who had voted for the BJP nominees in the recently held Rajya Sabha elections.

On Friday, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath called on the state governor Anandi Ben Patel and presented her a book ''Rom, Rom mein Ram''. Although the officials termed the meeting a courtesy call, sources said that the chief minister was likely to expand his cabinet in the next couple of days.

According to sources, a total of three or four new ministers might be inducted into the cabinet in the expansion. There might be one from the RLD besides Om Prakash Rajbhar and Dara Singh Chauhan, who had lost the Ghosi assembly by-poll to the SP nominee and was later nominated to the state legislative council.

One of the SP rebel MLAs, who had cross voted during the RS polls, could also be inducted in the cabinet, sources added. It was however not clear who among the SP rebels would make it to the cabinet.

Rajbhar, whose party SBSP had joined the NDA last year, had been waiting to be inducted into the state cabinet since then and had on Thursday warned that his patience was wearing thin.

BJP likely to leave 6 seats for allies in UP

BJP sources also said that the saffron party would leave six Lok Sabha seats in UP for its alliance partners.

The RLD could get two seats-Baghpat and Bijnore, while the Apna Dal (AD) could also get two seats. The Nishad Party and the SBSP were likely to be offered one seat each, sources added.

Incidentally the Nishad Party, which commanded considerable influence over the 'Nishad' (boatmen) community voters and were in sizable numbers in around half a dozen districts especially in the eastern UP region, had demanded four seats.

Similarly the SBSP, a predominantly caste outfit wielded influence on the electorally influential 'Rajbhar' community voters, who were in sizable strength in around a dozen districts in the eastern region of the state.