Yogi cabinet 2.0: BJP workers celebrate Somedra Tomar's elevation in UP govt

LucknowMeerut UP A wave of celebration among BJP workers swept across Meerut and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh over the elevation of Dr Somendra Tomar as the minister of state independent charge in the Yogi Adityanath government. As soon as Tomar took the oath at Jan Bhavan, BJP workers and supporters in Meerut and western Uttar Pradesh began celebrations.

Lucknow/Meerut (UP) A wave of celebration among BJP workers swept across Meerut and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh over the elevation of Dr Somendra Tomar as the minister of state (independent charge) in the Yogi Adityanath government. Tomar, who held the portfolio of minister of state for energy and additional sources of energy, was elevated following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's ministry expansion. As soon as Tomar took the oath at Jan Bhavan, BJP workers and supporters in Meerut and western Uttar Pradesh began celebrations. Given the influence of the Gurjar community in western Uttar Pradesh, Tomar's promotion is being viewed as a politically significant move. In recent times, the Samajwadi Party has also been making efforts to strengthen its foothold within the Gurjar community. Against this backdrop, the BJP's decision to elevate Tomar is being seen as a strategy to maintain political equilibrium. Forty-five-year-old Tomar currently represents Meerut South and was elected to the UP Legislative Assembly for the first time in 2017. After news of his elevation broke, supporters flocked to his residence in Shastri Nagar and gathered across the Meerut South assembly constituency. Party workers distributed sweets and celebrated with 'dhol' beats and music, while congratulatory messages poured in on social media. Tomar began his political journey through student politics at Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut. He remained associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from 1998 to 2004. In 2004, he was elected as the president of the Students' Union on the ABVP panel. Subsequently, he shouldered various responsibilities within the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and the broader BJP organisational structure. Originally from Khaila village in Baghpat district, Tomar currently resides in Shastri Nagar, Meerut. His father, Mahendra Singh Tomar, is a retired school principal. His family consists of his wife, one daughter, and two sons. Tomar's elevation, which comes ahead of the 2027 UP assembly elections, is also seen as a step to counter the Samajwadi Party's PDA ('Pichhda' (backward Classes), Dalit and 'Alpasankhyak' (minorities)) along with maintaining the caste and regional balance within the state. In the second expansion of the Yogi Adityanath 2.0 ministry, two cabinet ministers and four state ministers were inducted into the UP government, while two state ministers were elevated and given independent charges on Sunday. The move comes with the assembly elections in the state due early next year. In a swearing-in ceremony held at Jan Bhavan, former BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhury and SP rebel Manoj Pandey were appointed as cabinet ministers. State ministers Ajit Pal Singh and Somendra Tomar were promoted to minister of state with independent charge. Four new state ministers, Krishna Paswan, Surendra Diler, Hansraj Vishwakarma, and Kailash Rajput, were sworn in. Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath to the newly appointed ministers. This marks the second expansion of the Yogi 2.0 ministry; the first took place in March 2024, two years after the formation of the government. During that expansion, alliance partner and SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, RLD's Anil Kumar, Sunil Kumar Sharma, and Dara Singh Chauhan, who returned to the BJP from the SP, were inducted.