E-Paper
YOGI GOVT 2.0: From commoners, mgmt grads to technocrats and bureaucrats
The Yogi Adityanath government 2
The Yogi Adityanath government 2.0 is an interesting mix of educated lawmakers, individuals from the grassroots, MBAs, turncoats, technocrats and bureaucrats. It also has three Ph D holders.
The chief minister is a graduate and so are the two deputy chief ministers.
Representing the ‘grassroots’ segment are ministers with interesting stories. After one of their own, OBC lawmaker Rakesh Rathore had rebelled and met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the BJP had fielded his namesake Rakesh Rathore ‘Guru’, 50, an OBC, too. A former motor mechanic, ‘Guru’, who only studied till class VIII but whose two children are graduates, won the elections and was promptly rewarded with a berth in the Adityanath government.
Vijay Laxmi Gautam, 60, one of the five women ministers of the government, a Dalit and first time lawmaker and a minister, owned a fair price shop.
‘Guru’ and Laxmi are among the 31 new faces of the Adityanath government 2.0 and the buzz is that like in its first stint, the BJP government could contact the Indian Institute of Management-Lucknow (IIM-L) to impart tips on governance to the ministers.
In 2019, Adityanath had led his ministers and officials for management and governance tips, to foster team spirit and had prioritized areas like law and order, agriculture, infrastructure and industrial development and health and education that required a collective push for the state’s development.
“Interestingly, these were also the areas that largely shaped the BJP narrative during the elections and now, having won a consecutive second term, a first since 1985, the Adityanath government 2.0 might again head towards the management institute for another crash course, especially for new faces,” said AP Tiwari, a political analyst.
BJP leaders also indicated that the chief minister was happy with the earlier crash course. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for educated lawmakers. The Yogi government 2.0 is a reflection of that. Both PM and CM favour training and I won’t be surprised if another crash course might be happening,” said a BJP leader, who requested anonymity.
BJP leaders also pointed out how the CM, during an introductory session with his ministers, emphasised on transparency, and on Saturday in his cabinet meeting announced continuance of free ration for the poor, a key beneficiary outreach.
“With 2024 in mind, the government has hit the ground running and a training would only aid in preparing the ministers better,” the BJP leader said.
Engineers, doctors and management graduates, too, Yogi’s ministers this time have brought with them diverse skills. The appointment of some ministers is also being viewed as an indication to the cadres that the leadership is watching them.
Take the case of Daya Shankar Mishra ‘Dayalu’, 55, an inter college principal who had also contested on Congress ticket from Varanasi (South) in 2012, for instance. He had joined the BJP ahead of 2017 polls, and his being picked as a minister of state (independent charge) is being cited as proof that cadres are being watched and ‘performers’ rewarded.
Arun Kumar Saxena, 73, the lone Kayastha representation in the ministry from Bareilly, is a registered allopathic medicine practitioner while Brijesh Singh, 57, a thakur, who won from Deoband in Saharanpur that is known for its Islamic seminary Darul Uloom, is an Ayurvedic medicine practitioner, as is Dharamvir Prajapati, a minister of state and an OBC.
If Sanjay Nishad, an OBC and an MLC who was made a cabinet minister from the allies’ quota, has diploma in electro homeopathy, the other ally representation in the Yogi cabinet, Ashish Patel, is a civil engineer. Patel is the husband of union minister and Apna Dal (Sonelal) leader Anupriya Patel. Both have been made cabinet ministers. There are several ministers with bureaucratic experience – from former Gujarat cadre IAS officer AK Sharma, a Bhumihaar, who had worked closely under Modi both in Delhi and Gujarat, to Asim Arun, former head of the UP’s anti-terrorist squad – both of whom have been picked as cabinet ministers.
Sharma is a member of the upper house of the state legislature, while Arun is a first-time elected lawmaker from Kannauj.
Jitin Prasada, a former union minister who quit the Congress and joined the BJP, has been made minister again. Prasada has an MBA background while JPS Rathore, the UP BJP general secretary and minister of state, independent charge, has an engineering background. The lone Muslim face of the government Danish Azad Ansari, an OBC, has a degree in public administration.
