Lucknow: A fortnight after the BJP stormed to power in India's most populous state, the Yogi Adityanath 2.0 government took oath on Friday at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Cricket Stadium here along with two Deputy Chief Ministers and 48 other Ministers.
Of these, 22 are being retained as Minsters from Yogi's first government.
Cheered by tens of thousands of supporters, Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath of office and secrecy to Yogi Adityanath and his Ministers in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries.
While Cabinet Ministers took oath individually, the state Ministers (independent charge) took oath two at a time and state Ministers four in a group.
Two Deputy Chief Ministers -- Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, 16 Cabinet Ministers, 14 independent in-charge and 20 Ministers of State took the oath.
Among the new Ministers, 12 are OBCs, 8 Brahmins, 8 Jats, 8 SCs and 6 Thakurs.
Former Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya and UP BJP president Swantra Deo Singh were given Cabinet berth.
Nishad party President Sanjay Nishad and Apna Dal (Sonelal) state President Ashish Patel also became Cabinet Ministers.
Around 22 Ministers of the previous government were dropped despite winning while 12 Ministers lost the assembly polls.
Prominent among those who were dropped included Dr. Mahendra Singh, Satish Mahana, Ashutosh Tandon Gopalji, Siddharth Nath Singh, Neelkanth Tiwari, Mohsin Raza and Jai Pratap Singh.
A Muslim, Danish Azad Ansari, got a place in the new ministry in place of Mohsin Raza.
Outgoing Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Dinesh Sharma could be made the Chairman of the Legislative Council. Former Industry Minister Satish Mahana may be made the Speaker of the Assembly.
Earlier, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met 48 MLAs at his residence on Friday. (UNI)