Akhilesh Yadav inducts 12 new faces in his cabinet

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday inducted 12 new faces in his cabinet. In all, 21 ministers, including those who have been promoted, took oath of office at the Raj Bhavan here. The state government had earlier sacked eight ministers —- five cabinet ministers and three ministers of state (MoS) —- and stripped nine others of their portfolios. Prominent sacked ministers included Raja Aridaman Singh and Shiv Kumar Beria. The move is being seen as a major effort to refurbish the government’s image before the state goes to polls in 2017.