To Walk PM's 'Minimum Government' Path, Yogi Adityanath, RSS Draw Roadmap

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is planning to trim down the number of government departments. From the current 80, the number is likely to be pared down to 50, sources said. This was one of the key agendas of the meeting between the Chief Minister and the senior functionaries of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh -- the ideological mentor of the BJP -- which took place in Delhi yesterday, the sources added. The two-hour meeting in Delhi was attended by RSS executive head Bhaiyyaji Joshi.

Reducing the number of ministries will involve substantial merging and scrapping and could lead to a reshuffle. A judicious trim, which would help the government improve efficiency. could be vital at this point, in view of next year's Lok Sabha elections.

Yogi Adityanath -- who replaced the government of Akhilesh Yadav following a sweeping mandate in last year's assembly elections in the state -- had formed a 47-member cabinet. But he had inherited the huge number of departments from his predecessor. Currently, at least 30 ministers hold more than one department.

Last year, Niti Aayog had suggested bringing down the number of departments in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maxim of "Minimum government and maximum governance". The government's policy think tank had been tasked with helping the Yogi Adityanath's government to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of development.

After that, a committee was formed under a senior cabinet minister to give recommendations in this regard. The committee had recommended that number of departments be brought down to around 35.

Uttar Pradesh sends the largest number of lawmakers to parliament - 80, of which the BJP had won 71 seats. Party insiders said alarm bells had started ringing when the party lost three Lok Sabha seats this year to the united forces of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati.

One of the seats was Gorakhpur - held for five consecutive terms by the Chief Minister. The other was Phulpur, held by his deputy Keshav Maurya. Last month, the party also lost Kairana - a seat in the heart of UP's sugar belt -- which was seen as signal from farmers unhappy with mounting cane arrears.

Yesterday's meet also discussed the matter of next year's Kumbh mela in Allahabad. The BJP is making careful preparations for the religious gathering, attended by lakhs, in view of the next year's general elections.