UP CM Yogi's Delhi visit sparks cabinet expansion speculations

Uttar Pradesh is rife with speculations over an expansion in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's cabinet thereby heating up the political atmosphere in the state. Many speculations regarding leadership change to cabinet expansion have been made.

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): The political atmosphere in UP has increased a lot these days. Especially, with the visit of CM Yogi to Delhi, the speculation of a change in the politics of the state has intensified with some pointing out about leadership change while others speculating about cabinet expansion. To understand the entire politics related to UP BJP and the Yogi government, let us take you four years back. As soon as Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath sat on the chair of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on March 19, 2017, a rift ensued. In fact, after the election results had favoured the BJP in 2017, the then UP BJP President Keshav Prasad Maurya and Yogi Adityanath were in the race for the CM chair. However, it was Yogi Adityanath who assumed the top post. Since then, though there were no tussles between the two leaders, the gap between their supporters has definitely remained.

There have been allegations of casteism against CM Yogi, with the opposition targeted him over government jobs and the deployment of officers. Not only from the opposition but also within the BJP, there has been dissent against the UP CM. Despite all this, CM Yogi continued to move forward on the strength of his work while facing these allegations. Also, from the 2019 Lok Sabha to the UP by-elections to the victory of the BJP, Yogi established himself firmly in the politics of the state as well as in the BJP to emerge as a brand.

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Last year, in the month of March 2020 when the first wave of Covid broke out, Yogi Adityanath had successfully dealt with the crisis. In January 2021, Arvind Kumar Sharma an IAS officer of Gujarat cadre made his entry into Uttar Pradesh politics and has a long experience of working with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With the entry of Sharma, who is said to be close to PM Modi, the discussion about his inclusion in the Yogi cabinet started. It was believed that by including Sharma in the Yogi cabinet, he would be given important responsibility. There were also speculations about making him the Deputy CM. Meanwhile, during the elections held in 5 states including West Bengal, Yogi's engagement in election rallies increased and the expansion of the cabinet was also postponed. It was during this time that the second wave of Covid became rampant.

During the second wave, as the Covid cases exploded in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was busy holding meetings in the election battle of West Bengal. Meanwhile, preparations for the Panchayat elections in the state had also begun, and despite several calls for postponement of the elections, the UP govt conducted the polls. Meanwhile, the government had to face a tough time in handling the chaos that spread in the state due to a rise in Covid cases. From lack of oxygen to lack of medicines and beds, an atmosphere of dissent rose against the Yogi government in the state.

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After which CM Yogi himself took charge by appealing to the public to follow Covid appropriate behaviour, and cracked down on officials by visiting almost all the districts of the state. He even inspected the hospitals and interacted with patients. By doing this, he sent a straight message to the public saying that the government is with them, on the other hand, he also ensured the availability of beds and medicines with oxygen in the hospitals of the state. However, CM Yogi's efforts to curb Covid infection in the state was late by then, and the government drew severe flak for its handling of the second wave of the pandemic. Right from the common people to political parties, the government was put in the dock.

Amid all these speculations, Adityanath has reached the national capital to meet Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief J.P. Nadda today. According to sources, preparations for the Assembly elections will be the main agenda of Adityanath's meeting with the party's central leadership.