State has highest 11 Ministers at Centre, but more to get berth to fix caste equation
With Assembly elections just six months away, Uttar Pradesh is expected to get the “lion’s share” in the expansion of the Narendra Modi Ministry to set the caste equation right.
UP has already a maximum of 11 Ministers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Textile Minister Smriti Irani, still more names are likely to be added in the list.
A senior BJP leader told this reporter in Lucknow that caste and region are set to play a crucial role to decide who will get the ministerial berth.
“There are some regions which need representation in the Cabinet and people of particular caste too have shown their craving for ministerial seats. The expansion is likely to placate the disgruntled voices,” he said and added that some of the challenges it faces are from the most backward, Brahmin and Dalits.
In the last four-and half-years of Yogi Adityanath’s rule, a message has gone that this Government is anti-Brahmin and has also ignored the interest of the backward caste. The Dalits are up in arms against the Government in Azamgarh where Opposition parties like the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have thrown their weight behind them.
Apna Dal president and MP from Mirzapur Anupriya Patel has a good chance of being included in the Ministry as she represents the strong Kurmi community. Around a fortnight back, she had a meeting with Home Minister
Amit Shah which raised the possibility of her being brought back in the Cabinet. She was in the Modi Cabinet in his first tenure.
BJP sources said her inclusion in the Ministry can influence the large Kurmi vote base — the second most influential backward caste after Yadavs. Kurmis have been loyal to the BJP since 2014.
Brahmin discontent is a major issue for the BJP in UP at present and in this expansion a senior Brahmin MP is likely to be included in the Union Ministry.
Two Brahmin faces from UP, including Allahabad MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Kanpur MP Satya Dev Pachauri, are in the race.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi carries the legacy of her father Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, a big name in UP. She can also be used for Uttarakhand political context as well. On the other hand, Pachauri from Kanpur can be used to influence Brahmin voters in the crucial belt of central UP. It is here where Vikas Dubey encounter and subsequent arrest of his family members became a big issue for the Brahmin.
The other main issue would be of western UP, where the farmers and Jats are annoyed with the Centre as well as the State regime. Though Sanjeev Baliyan, a Jat leader is a Minister, still another leader of the community like Satpal Singh, MP from Baghpat can be a possible choice.
Surprisingly, there is no Dalit Minister from UP in the Union Ministry hence there is a possibility of a SC MP getting a berth. Non Jatav Dalits specially the Pasi have been a big support for BJP in 2014, 2017 and 2019 elections.
Big Dalit faces from UP are Ramashanker Katheria (Etawah), Rajkumar Chahal (Fatehpur Sikri), Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlal Ganj).
