Sahibabad MLA gets ministerial berth in Adityanath cabinet

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath expands cabinet, inducts four new ministers including Sunil Kumar Sharma. Portfolios are yet to be decided.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday expanded his cabinet for the first time since he came to power for a second term in 2022, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Sunil Kumar Sharma from Sahibabad has been sworn in as a minister.

Governor Anandiben Patel (left) administer the oath of office to BJP’s Sahibabad MLA Sunil Kumar Sharma on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

Besides Sharma, Dara Singh Chauhan, who rejoined the BJP last year after a stint with Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA Anil Kumar from Purkazi, and chief of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party Omprakash Rajbhar have been inducted into the cabinet as ministers.

“Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office to the four ministers at a ceremony held at Gandhi Auditorium in Raj Bhavan,” said a spokesperson from the UP information department, adding that with the latest inclusions, Adityanath’s cabinet now comprise 56 ministers.

While the four legislators have been sworn in as ministers, their portfolios are yet to be decided, said officials.

Sharma, the present MLA from Sahibabad, has been with the party for almost three decades and served at the grassroots level before rising within the party ranks.

Party sources said the move is aimed at canvassing Brahmin votes and the party’s recent declaration of Dr Mahesh Sharma as MP candidate from Gautam Budh Nagar is similarly aimed at garnering Brahmin votes. On March 2, the BJP had released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls .

In 2022 assembly elections, Sharma was given a ticket for the fourth consecutive time.

He secured his first win in 2007 when he contested from Ghaziabad assembly seat but lost to Amarpal Sharma in 2012 when he contested from Sahibabad assembly seat. He won the Sahibabad assembly seat in 2017 and yet again in 2022.