Cabinet rejig: Akhilesh Yadav promotes two ministers

LUCKNOW: In a sign that the Samajwadi Party could be looking to corner the Gandhi family in its pocket borough, the Akhilesh Yadav government had elevated two junior ministers from the Gandhi stronghold of Rae Bareli-Amethi, to cabinet rank.

The minister of state for Geology and Mining Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who is an MLA from Amethi and Agriculture minister of state Manoj Pandey, who is an MLA from Unchahar in Rae Bareli, were elevated to full cabinet rank on Saturday.

The elevation of the two ministers from the Gandhi’s traditional constituency, weeks before the Lok Sabha elections, has fueled speculation that the SP may be looking to turn on the heat on the Congress’ high Command. The SP had not fielded any candidates against the Gandhi’s in Rae Bareli and Amethi in 2009, but the general elections in 2014 could be a different ball game.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in an interview to ET on January 1 had said “we had earlier decided not to field any candidate in Rae Bareli and Amethi in the coming polls. But if there is a change in the decision it will soon be known”.

The SP had been an uneasy ally of Congress-led UPA but as bitterness between the two parties increases over the fight for Muslim votes the strain has started surfacing.