Akhilesh Yadav sacks eight ministers, withdraws portfolios of nine

Akhilesh on Monday met Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik to discuss the possibilities of extending his cabinet.

The Cabinet ministers who have been axed are Stamp and Registration Minister Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh, Minister for Backward Welfare and Handicapped Ambika Chaudhary, Handloom and Silk Industry Minister Shiv Kumar Beria, Khadi and Gramodyog Minister Narad Rai and Technical Education Minister Shivakant Ojha.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday sacked eight cabinet ministers out of a total of 17 ministers.

The oath-taking ceremony of the new ministers in slated for October 31 at 10.30 am at Raj Bhawan in Lucknow. The UP chief minister is also scheduled to have a meeting with a few investors at the hotel. Yadav had earlier hinted at expansion of his council of ministers after the Bihar assembly elections scheduled to end on 5 November.

According to party sources, most of the affected ministers were found unable to control growing factionalism in the party in their districts, while others, especially in education and industries, were facing charges of corruption. Chaudhary, who had lost election in 2012, was made MLC due to his proximity to Mulayam Singh Yadav and was even made a minister.

A few new faces are likely to be accommodated in the rejig in the 43-month-old Samajwadi Party government, which can have a maximum number of 60 ministers. He also wondered whether the Chief Minister agreed with the recent statements of senior minister Mohammad Azam Khan.

Sources in the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) said western UP could get more representation in the expanded Cabinet to "counter" the BJP as well as the efforts by the BSP to forge a Dalit-Muslim combination to reap electoral dividends in the region. Both the chief ministers will discuss on the social, cultural and economic aspects of both the states.