Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Caretaker Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was elected leader of the BJP legislature party in a meeting held in Lucknow on Thursday. He will be formally taking oath as the new CM on Friday. During his address after the BJP legislature party meeting, Adityanath thanked the BJP leadership for giving him another opportunity to "serve people."
"I thank the party for placing faith in me. I will work for the public with complete honesty. We will devote ourselves to the public and work as a team," the CM-elect said. Home Minister Amit Shah who was present on the occasion called it a 'historic moment'. "A moment of history in BJP legislature. For 35 years, no party has repeated government in UP except the BJP. Yogi Adityanath by the dint of his work was chosen again to head Uttar Pradesh," Shah said.
Meanwhile, the BJP top brass on Thursday gave final touches to the government formation exercise in Uttar Pradesh as the party takes into account a variety of factors, ranging from caste, age, regional balance and education among others, to decide on the members of the new Cabinet.
A party source said his Cabinet may again have two deputy chief ministers. Outgoing deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma besides Baby Rani Maurya are seen among the top contenders for Adityanath's deputies. While the BJP and its allies have won over two-thirds majority in the 403-member assembly, the ruling party is likely to keep its further political expansion and future challenges in mind during the formation of the new government. Baby Rani Maurya, a member of the influential Jatav community from the Scheduled Castes, is widely tipped to be given an important place in the new government.
Also read:All three VIP MLAs join BJP; make it single largest party in Bihar assembly
She had resigned as Uttarakhand governor to fight the assembly polls. Brijesh Pathak, a minister in the outgoing government, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantar Dev Singh and A K Sharma, a former bureaucrat considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are also being talked about as probables for key positions, including deputy chief ministers if the party seeks to bring in new faces.
Adityanath had on Wednesday met Nadda to discuss the formation of government in the state. The oath-taking ceremony of the new 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 Modi along with several Union cabinet ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. The BJP with its allies won 273 seats out of 403, becoming the first party in over three decades to form a government for a second consecutive time in the state.
