Uttar Pradesh chief minister-elect Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda to discuss the final contours of the state cabinet. Adityanath is scheduled to take oath as the CM for a second consecutive term on Friday.
While the party has announced Yogi Adityanath’s name for the top post, it is yet to take a call on the names of deputy chief ministers.
Several names have come up during discussions, including former deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who lost the assembly elections, Dinesh Sharma, Baby Rani Maurya, Brijesh Pathak, Swatantar Dev Singh and AK Sharma.
After the BJP retained Pushkar Singh Dhami as the chief minister of Uttarakhand for a second term despite him losing from Khatami seat, it is believed that the party may continue with Maurya as the deputy CM. However, no official announcement has been made by the party so far.
Many in the party believe that the BJP will renominate Shrikant Sharma as minister while newly-elected MLA and former Enforcement Directorate officer Rajeshwar Singh may also be given a chance.
The oath taking ceremony of the Adityanath-led government will be held on Friday in a mega event at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ikana stadium in Lucknow. It is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with several cabinet ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. Personalities from different walks of life are also expected to be in attendance at the grand ceremony.
The BJP with its allies won 274 seats out of 403, becoming the first party in over three decades to form a government for a second consecutive time in the state.