Yogi takes charge as Modi promises ‘Uttam Pradesh’

A surprise inclusion was cricketer-turned-politician Mohsin Raza, who was sworn in as a minister of state, becoming the lone Muslim face in the state government. BJP had not fielded any Muslim candidate in the Assembly polls. 

Interestingly, the Chief Minister, his two deputies – BJP state unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and party’s national vice president Dinesh Sharma — and Raza are not members of either House of the UP legislature.

Besides the two deputy CMs, his council of ministers has 22 other cabinet ministers, nine ministers of state with independent charge and 13 ministers of state. The 44-year-old Adityanath is the fourth Chief Minister from the saffron party, ending its 15-year hiatus in the Hindi heartland state.

The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Governor Ram Naik at Kashiram Smriti Upvan at a grand 90-minute ceremony attended by a galaxy of BJP luminaries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and LK Advani. Expressing ‘immense confidence’ that this new team will leave no stone unturned in making UP ‘Uttam Pradesh’, Modi tweeted, “There will be record development. Our sole mission & motive is development. When UP develops, India develops. We want to serve UP’s youth & create opportunities for them...” 

Outgoing Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav also attended the function. The swearing-in ceremony was the culmination of a seven-phased Assembly election spread over two months in the most populous state, which gave BJP a landslide victory in the 403-member Assembly. BJP and its allies have won 325 seats. 

V Bhaigaih, National Joint Secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) denied any role in influencing the BJP in choosing Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister. He was addressing reporters after the inauguration of the Sangh’s three-day national council meeting on Sunday in Coimbatore. Stating that BJP was functioning independently, Bhaigaih added that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attached to RSS. He meant there were quite a few RSS persons in high positions in the BJP.