Yogi Adityanath sworn in as UP CM for second time
Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for a second consecutive term on Friday at Lucknow's Ekana Cricket Stadium. The oath-taking ceremony was attended by PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among other BJP leaders. Notably, Adityanath has scripted history by becoming the first UP chief minister to return to power after a full five-year term.
Apart from CM Adityanath, 52 ministers of the UP cabinet were also reportedly sworn in at the ceremony where several BJP leaders and top Bollywood celebrities were in attendance. Interestingly, Adityanath will once again have two deputy chief ministers. While Keshav Prasad Maurya will continue as a deputy chief minister, the second post will be given to Brahmin leader Brajesh Pathak, replacing Dinesh Sharma.
On the other hand, BJP's UP President Swatantra Dev Singh has also taken the oath as a minister in the new UP cabinet. Other prominent names in the cabinet include Baby Rani Maurya, Surya Pratap Shahi, Asim Arun, Jitin Prasada, Suresh Khanna, and Laxmi Narayan Choudhary, among others. Previous reports said at least half of the new inductions were likely to be fresh faces.
Apart from the aforementioned leaders, two members from the BJP's allies in Uttar Pradesh have taken oath as cabinet ministers. They include Sanjay Nishad of the Nishad Party and Ashish Patel of the Apna Dal (Sonelal) party.
Reportedly, several high-profile leaders and business people were invited to the swearing-in ceremony for which PM Modi was the chief guest. All current and past BJP state chief ministers and over 60 business tycoons—including Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani—were also among the invitees. Moreover, invitations were extended to Bollywood personalities like Akshay Kumar, Kangana Ranaut, Boney Kapoor, and The Kashmir Files team as well.
To note, Adityanath is the first chief minister in 37 years under whose leadership a political party has returned to power in Uttar Pradesh after completing a full term. In the recently concluded 2022 UP Assembly elections, he led his party to a massive win as the BJP retained power in the state by winning 255 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
