The cabinet expansion in Uttar Pradesh is likely to happen in the first week of August and the new entrants in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) might get a berth.

Amar Ujala reported that Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and former Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Dara Singh Chauhan will be made cabinet ministers in Yogi 2.0.

Chauhan has previously served as a cabinet minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led state government from 2017 to 2022, holding portfolios such as Forests, Environment, and Animal Husbandry but joined SP in 2022.

The cabinet expansion will also witness a few more entries. Those leaders who were a minister in Yogi 1.0 are trying hard to secure their place in the current Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government.

It was reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) deal with the SBSP includes offering a Lok Sabha ticket from Ghazipur to Rajbhar's son and making Om Prakash a cabinet minister in Yogi 2.0.

BJP state president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary met Rajbhar at his residence on Wednesday (19 July). He then went to Delhi yesterday to discuss the cabinet expansion and appointments of district BJP presidents.

It is expected that the cabinet expansion will be done by keeping the caste equations in mind.

Former Jal Shakti Minister Mahendra Singh, former MSME minister Siddharthnath Singh, former power minister Shrikant Sharma and former Transport MoS (Independent in charge) Ashok Kataria are also in the race for a cabinet berth.