Ahead Of UP Polls, PM's Aide To Get Big Role Amid Dissent In BJP

A cabinet expansion is likely this month and new faces are expected to be taken in with caste and regional equations in mind, sources say.

The BJP has ruled out any change in the government or party leadership in Uttar Pradesh, dismissing speculation that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's job may be in trouble over his government's Covid handling, but the cabinet will have new faces with months to the UP polls next year. Former bureaucrat AK Sharma, known to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's confidante, may be given an important role in the UP government, BJP sources say. Yogi Adityanath will continue as Chief Minister and Swatantra Dev Singh as BJP's UP president and the party will contest next year's election under their leadership, the sources asserted, rubbishing talk fueled by a two-day review meeting held by national BJP leaders in UP capital Lucknow. Despite the buzz, there was never a real possibility that Yogi Adityanath - the BJP's star campaigner and one of its top leadership faces - would be replaced. But a cabinet expansion is likely this month and new ministers will be picked with caste and regional equations in mind, sources say. The decision was taken after the review by senior BJP leaders BL Santosh and Radha Mohan Singh, described as an "extensive feedback exercise" by party leaders.