With the aim of bolstering her strength to face the impending session of the state assembly, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday evening expanded her ministry for the third time within a week.
Mehboob Ali, the sole MLA of the Rashtriya Parivartan Party, headed by D P Yadav, a dreaded mafia don-turned-politician from Western UP, joined the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party and was inducted into the council of ministers.
It is possible that the tribulations being faced by independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya may have helped persuade Ali to switch loyalties.
After the swearing in, Mayawati reiterated there is no threat to her ministry. She also said that some legislators from the Congress and Samajwadi Party are in touch with her.
It was believed that the chief minister had managed to attract an MLA of the Apna Dal too. But the chief minister denied any such development,.
The Apna Dal is a regional outfit with a support base in areas surrounding Allahabad in eastern UP. The three-member legislature party is led by Atiq Ahmad, who is currently behind bars in connection with a number of criminal cases.
Not too long ago in August, Mayawati had accused Ahmad of plotting to get her eliminated and he has reportedly declined Mayawati's offer to ally with the BSP.
In order to stick to her resolve to restrict the size of her ministry to 79, Mayawati had earlier got 13 BSP ministers to quit to make room for the new entrants.
With Tuesday's addition, the BSP's strength has gone up to 107 in the 403-member state assembly. The BJP has 87 MLAs and the other key ruling ally Rashtriya Lok Dal 14.
The ruling coalition enjoys the support of a few independents and some smaller political groups.
The opposition Samajwadi Party has 142 MLAs and the Congress 16. The rest is made up of independents and a few smaller political groups.
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