Expanding his cabinet for the seventh and perhaps the last time before Uttar Pradesh goes to polls, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday inducted three new fresh faces while dropping Science and Technology minister Manoj Kumar Pandey even as Balram Yadav made a comeback to the ministry.
Governor Ram Naik administered oath of office to the five ministers -- three of cabinet rank and two ministers of state with independent charge -- at the Raj Bhawan.
In a surprise move, the chief minister dropped Science and Technology Minister Pandey, creating a new vacancy in the ministry which with today's induction reached its maximum strength of 60.
With Monday's expansion, there are 26 cabinet ministers, 12 MoS (Independent) and 22 Ministers of State.
Senior cabinet minister Shivpal Singh Yadav, who had announced merger of QED last week and is said to be sulking after the parliamentary board's decision nullifying it, was conspicuous by his absence at the oath-taking ceremony.
As decided by Samajwadi Party Parliamentary Board, senior minister Balram Yadav, who had to bear the brunt of merger of Quami Ekta Dal of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in Samajwadai Party last week, made a comeback to the cabinet along with another senior leader Narad Rai, who was removed from the ministry earlier.
While Balram Yadav and Narad Rai took oath as the cabinet ministers on Monday, Ziyaudin Rizvi, who is the third cabinet minister in today's expansion was on pilgrimage and would take oath on his return.
Akhilesh inducted two MLAs from Lucknow -- Ravidas Mehrotra and Sharda Pratap Shukla -- as Ministers of State with independent charge. Portfolios would be allocated later.
SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh and national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav were present at the oath-taking ceremony.
Shivpal was away in Etawah, the home district of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav where he reviewed development works of four adjoining districts before leaving for Lucknow.
Ram Gopal Yadav, however, downplayed the absence of Shivpal saying he was out of town and thus could not attend.
"There are no differences within Samajwadi Party...media has been spreading all sorts of wrong reports," he stressed.
