Yogi prepares for major cabinet reshuffle in UP

Lucknow:  The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is preparing for a major cabinet reshuffle — its first since its formation in March 2017.

There are 46 members in the Yogi Adityanath government, which leaves a vacancy of 14 members. If the four UP Ministers, who are contesting the Lok Sabha elections get elected, the vacancies will increase to 18.

The Chief Minister, when asked about the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle that was already long due, said, “Let the elections get over first.”

According to sources, the performance of the BJP in constituencies of Ministers will be a major issue in the reshuffle.

“In constituencies where the party has under-performed, the concerned Ministers may be dropped. The Chief Minister has regularly been assessing the performance of Ministers in their respective department and this will be another factor.

“A greater representation is expected for those sections of society that have remained neglected till now,” said a party functionary.

The BJP will soon start gearing up for the 2022 Assembly elections. “We will be working on the premise that the SP-BSP-RLD alliance will continue till 2022 and the Congress will also emerge stronger in the state by then. The BJP will have to double its strength to meet these challenges,” the functionary said.

Sources said that a better coordination between the government and the party in Uttar Pradesh will also be worked out. Party leaders have often complained of a lack of coordination with the government.

The Yogi government will also opt for a major bureaucratic reshuffle, both, in the IAS and IPS cadres.

Those officers, against whom there have been complaints of a partisan attitude during elections, will be shunted out.

The performance of various departments that had a direct bearing on elections, like the Sugar Industry and Cane Development Department and Food And Civil Supplies Department, will also be under the scanner.

In the Police Department, a major reshuffle at the district levels will be undertaken, following complaints of candidates/legislators against certain police officials in their constituencies.

An official in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat said that Yogi Adityanath wanted to make the entire system more sensitive and responsive.

The Chief Minister wants that when incidents like train mishaps or road and boat accidents take place, the initiative for relief and rescue measures should be taken without waiting for directives from the top.

“Yogi Adityanath in now fully aware of the problems, he knows the behaviour of officers and their performance. He cannot be misled into doing something that is not right. In the next two years, you will see him as a performer,” the official said.

Published on: May 22, 2019 at 13:50 IST

IANS