Yogi Adityanath sworn in as 21st chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, to head 47-member cabinet

Lucknow: Firebrand BJP leader Yogi Adityanath was on Sunday sworn in as the 21st chief minister of Uttar Pradesh at a function here in the presence of a galaxy of political bigwigs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Adityanath will head a 47-member cabinet that includes two deputy CMs.

Cricketer-turned-politician Mohsin Raza is the lone Muslim face in the new cabinet. BJP had not fielded any Muslim candidate in the Assembly polls.

The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Governor Ram Naik at Kashiram Smriti Upvan at a grand 90-minute ceremony.

Besides Modi, others who attended the function included Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, LK Advani, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Sending out a strong message that corruption will not be tolerated, the 44-year-old directed all his ministers to give details of their income, movable and immovable assets within 15 days.

In his first media interaction after assuming office, Adityanath said his government "will work for all sections of the society without any discrimination”.

“We will ensure balanced development of UP," he asserted.

In a sign of a mellowing down from his past stand, the Hindutva poster boy, known for his inflammatory remarks against Muslims in the past, also asked his ministerial colleagues to refrain from making incendiary statements.

Adityanath said, "I'm grateful to the people of Uttar Pradesh and assure them that the state will move towards development."

"Our government is fully committed to fulfil the promises that were made," he added.

Interestingly, the chief minister and his two deputies -- BJP state unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya (47) and party's national vice president Dinesh Sharma (53) -- and Raza (49) are not members of either House of the UP legislature.

Besides the two deputy CMs, the cabinet includes 22 ministers, nine ministers of state with independent charge and 13 ministers of state.

Adityanath is the fourth chief minister from the saffron party, ending its 15-year hiatus in the Hindi heartland state.

Expressing "immense confidence" that this new team will leave no stone unturned in making UP 'Uttam Pradesh', PM Modi tweeted, "There will be record development.

“Our sole mission & motive is development. When UP develops, India develops. We want to serve UP's youth & create opportunities for them..."

However, BSP supremo Mayawati chose to boycott the event alleging that by making "RSS man" Adityanath the chief minister, the saffron party wanted to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls not on its development plank, but by "polarising voters".

"I got the invitation but boycotted the oath-taking ceremony as the BJP has betrayed the backward castes and Brahmins by making him (Adityanath) the chief minister following the RSS agenda," she said.

The swearing-in ceremony was the culmination of a seven-phased Assembly election spread over two months in the most populous state, which gave BJP a landslide victory in the 403-member Assembly. BJP and its allies have won 325 seats.