Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday expanded his ministry by recalibrating caste equations and drawing leaders from different regional backgrounds.

Bhupendra Chaudhary, a Jat from the state’s west, and Manoj Pandey, a Brahmin from the east, were appointed cabinet ministers. Chaudhary is a former state BJP president and a member of the Legislative Council (MLC). Pandey, who had defected from the Samajwadi Party along with six other MLAs, represents the Unchahar seat in Rae Bareli district.

Those who have been made state ministers are Krishna Paswan, Kailash Singh Rajpoot, Surendra Diler and Hansraj Vishwakarma. Paswan, Rajput and Diler are MLAs from Khaga in Fatehpur, Tirwa in Kannauj and Khair in Aligarh, respectively. Vishwakarma is an MLC and the BJP president of Varanasi district.

The new names include two Jats, one Brahmin, one SC and two OBCs.

Vishwakarma seems to have been rewarded for mobilising people during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi. He is the fourth minister in the Adityanath government from the Varanasi district. Ayush minister Dayashankar Mishra, stamp duty and registration minister Ravindra Jaiswal and labour minister Anil Rajbhar are also from the same constituency.

“We are prepared to defeat the Samajwadi Party in the 2027 elections. The ministry expansion gives us a better opportunity to perform well and bring the BJP government in UP for the third consecutive term,” Vishwakarma said.

Minister of state for energy Somendra Tomar and minister of state for science and technology Ajit Pal were promoted to ministers of state with independent charges.

Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office to all of them at her official residence.

The portfolios are yet to be announced.

Puja Pal, another SP MLA who had defected to the BJP and was expected to take oath on Sunday, didn’t turn up. It is learnt that she didn’t want the ministry offered to her. However, a large number of her followers had gathered in Lucknow in the hope that she would be there at the governor’s house.

“We had congratulated her, but she didn’t come because her demand for a cabinet berth was not accepted,” said a close associate of Pal.

Reacting to the ministry expansion, SP president Akhilesh Yadav posted on X: “They want to be seen doing something. He (CM) has nothing to do except receiving chits (instructions)…The CM’s role in the BJP government is of a courier messenger only.”

The SP boss had earlier said that Adityanath was supposed to follow the orders from New Delhi.

Chaudhary said: “The people have already rejected the SP. So, whatever he says is meaningless.”