Some prominent leaders, who were part of the previous Yogi Adityanath government, did not find a place in the new Cabinet this time.
The 10 big leaders, who got elected this time and represent different castes and communities, were dropped by the party leadership as they lacked connect with people, performed poorly as ministers and showed a lack of interest in organisational activities, sources in the BJP said.
Among the top names in the list of dropped ministers is Dinesh Sharma, who was deputy chief minister in the previous government and the Brahmin face of the party. He did not contest the election this time.
Former Lucknow mayor, Sharma has been replaced with another Brahmin leader Brajesh Pathak, who has been elected from the Lucknow Cantonment seat.
May the double-engine government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath continue to work for the people of the state… I will continue to work for the party and strengthen it. As a party worker, I will work to ensure that the BJP emerges victorious in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” Sharma was quoted as saying by the PTI on Friday.
A senior party leader said that Sharma may be elevated to Vidhan Parishad chairman.
Shrikant Sharma, who was elected MLA from Mathura for the second consecutive term, has also been dropped from the cabinet. He was the spokesperson of the government in the previous term and once held the post of party national secretary and national media in charge.
Sidharth Nath Singh, who was minister of MSME, Khadi and export in the previous government could not get a place in the new cabinet. He got elected from Allahabad West for the second consecutive term.
While the Adityanath government claimed that its Covid-19 management during the second wave of the pandemic was best in the country, the party has dropped Jai Pratap Singh who was medical and health minister in the previous term. Singh, an eight-term MLA from Bansi in Siddharthnagar, is Kshatriya by caste and belongs to the princely state of Bansi.
