‘Who will BJP reward?’: Akhilesh targets UP cabinet expansion ahead of reshuffle

Ahead of the much-anticipated expansion of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the ruling party, questioning how it plans to accommodate defectors, dissatisfied legislators and alliance partners within the limited vacancies available in the state cabinet.

The expansion of the government of Uttar Pradesh cabinet led by chief minister Yogi Adityanath is scheduled later in the day.

In a strongly worded post on X, the Samajwadi Party chief said the public was asking whether leaders who switched over to the BJP from rival parties would now be rewarded with ministerial positions despite there being only six vacant berths in the 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 wrote.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also questioned the criteria likely to be used in selecting ministers from among legislators belonging to the same caste or community.

“If one MLA is chosen from among several legislators belonging to a community, what will be the basis of that selection?” he asked.

Akhilesh Yadav further suggested that many turncoat leaders could feel humiliated if denied cabinet positions after joining the BJP.

“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 remarked.

The Samajwadi Party leader claimed those left out of the expansion may struggle politically 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 waiting for ministerial roles, Yadav said several leaders within the ruling party had spent years hoping for cabinet positions.

“What about the BJP's own people who have been drying up like thorns while waiting to become ministers?” he said in a swipe at the party leadership.

He also questioned whether reshuffling or reducing portfolios of existing ministers would amount to an admission of poor 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 took aim at the BJP’s allies, asking whether coalition partners would receive meaningful representation or continue to remain marginalised within the government.

“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’,” he said, quoting a Hindi film song lyric to underscore his criticism.

Sharpening his attack on the BJP government’s overall performance, the SP chief said the final months before the next Assembly election would not change public opinion.

“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 alleged.

Accusing the BJP government of corruption, inflation and unemployment, Yadav claimed the ruling dispensation had burdened citizens while targeting PDA communities — a political term used by the Samajwadi Party for backwards, Dalits and minorities.

“The BJP government has only delivered corruption and atrocities, attacks on PDA, and the burden of inflation and unemployment, making life difficult for people,” he said.

With PTI inputs