The Yogi Adityanath government‘s Cabinet expansion is scheduled later in the day.
In a post on X, the Samajwadi Party chief said the public is asking whether all defectors from other parties who had joined the BJP would be rewarded with ministerial posts despite there being only six vacancies in the state Cabinet.
“People are asking that there are only six vacancies in the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet, while the number of leaders who switched sides from other parties is much higher. Will all of them be rewarded with ministerial positions?” Yadav said in the post.
He further questioned the criteria that would be adopted if only a few legislators from a particular community were selected for ministerial berths.
“If one MLA is chosen from among several legislators belonging to a community, what will be the basis of that selection?” he asked.
The former chief minister also raised concerns about the possible resentment among those who may not find a place in the Cabinet.”What will happen to the remaining turncoats? Will their neglect and humiliation be pacified through some compromise, or will they also realise that the BJP belongs to no one?” he said.
Yadav alleged that leaders left out of the Cabinet expansion would feel “cheated” and may struggle to face voters in their constituencies. “Will those left out not feel betrayed? Will they be able to show their faces in their constituencies?” he asked.
Targeting BJP legislators awaiting ministerial positions, Yadav said many leaders in the ruling party had been “waiting for years” to become ministers. “What about the BJP’s own people who have been drying up like thorns while waiting to become ministers?” he remarked.
The Samajwadi Party president also questioned whether reducing portfolios of existing ministers would send a message among the public that they had “failed” in governance.
“If departments are taken away from current ministers, will that not send a message that they were unsuccessful and therefore, stripped of their ministries? Such ministers may lose elections without even fighting,” he said.
Yadav also targeted the BJP’s allies, asking whether coalition partners would receive meaningful representation or continue to feel sidelined.
“Will alliance partners get something more than mere assurances, or will they be ignored with the message – tum the jinke sahare, wo hue na tumhare (those whom you depended on, never truly belonged to you),” he said, quoting lines from a Hindi song.
Attacking the BJP government over performance, Yadav said the last nine months before the next elections would not change public perception.
“The public is also asking what these ministers can achieve in the last nine months when the government could not deliver anything in nine years,” he said.
Alleging corruption, inflation and unemployment under the BJP rule, Yadav added, “The BJP government has only delivered corruption and atrocities, attacks on PDA (Picchde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak used for backwards, Dalits and minorities), and the burden of inflation and unemployment, making life difficult for people.”
