Akhilesh stamp all over in selection of ministers; former Akali Dal leader among 11 new faces

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday inducted 11 new members into his Council of ministers. Nine existing ministers were elevated in a reshuffle that is widely perceived to having the Akhilesh stamp all over it. Surprisingly, a senior Akali Dal leader and a former Union minister, Balwant Singh Ramuwalia, was also made a Cabinet minister.

Incidentally, Ramuwalia is an Akali Dal leader belonging to Punjab. A minister in the Union Cabinet earlier, he is not a member of either House of UP Legislature. It is learnt that he could enter the Legislative Council in the next few months. He is considered a very close friend to Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav. Rumours about him having quit the Akali Dal had been making the rounds in the past few weeks. Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party are partners in the coalition government in Punjab.

The exercise follows the sudden move on Thursday 29 October when Akhilesh had dropped eight ministers and withdrawn the portfolios from nine ministers.

On Saturday, State Governor Ram Naik administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers. These included two Cabinet ministers Sahib Singh Saini, Balwant Singh Ramuwalia; one Minister of State with Independent charge Syeda Shadaab Fatima; and eight Ministers of State Radhey Shyam Singh, Shailendra Yadav, Onkar Singh Yadav, Tej Narain (Pawan) Pandey, Sudhir Kumar Rawat, Banshidhar Bauddh and Laxmikant Nishad. Another minister Hemraj Verma could not be present at the ceremony because of personal reasons.

Among the existing ministers, Cabinet status was accorded to Arvind Kumar Gope, Kamal Akhtar and Vinod Pandit Singh, while seven Ministers of State were given Independent charge. These were Yasser Shah, Nitin Agrawal, Farid Mahfuz Kidwai, Riyaz Ahmed, Ram Sakal Gujar and Moolchand Chauhan. It is also learnt that the ministerial rejig could be followed by a massive shake-up in the bureaucracy with several officers being given new charge. At the same time, changes are also likely in the ruling party set-up. It is felt that Akhilesh Yadav would like to send a clear and strong message that from now onwards he would be in charge of the affairs of the government and the ruling party. Ever since he took over office in March 2012, there have been reports and allegations that his working was influenced by seniors in the family and party, but apparently, the latest exercise is set to change that perception.

However, the continued presence of ministers like Mohammad Azam Khan and Gayatri Prajapati, indicates that the Chief Minister has accommodated the wishes of seniors for now. In the coming months, however, Akhilesh Yadav may have to face the displeasure of those who have been shown the door. In Thursday’s move, those who had been sacked were Cabinet ministers Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh (Stamps, Registration and Civil Defence), Ambika Chaudhary (Backward Classes and Handicapped Welfare), Shiv Kumar Beriya (Textiles and Silk), Narad Rai (Khadi and Village Industries), Shivakant Ojha (Technical Education), Ministers of State Alok Kumar Shakya (Technical Education), Yogesh Pratap Singh (Basic Education), and Bhagwat Sharan Gangwar (Micro, Small and Medium Industries).