Suspense over the constitution of Council of Ministers in the BJP-led Manohar Lal Khattar Cabinet continued for the fifth day on Friday even as the Chief Minister met his former cabinet colleagues at his residence and discussed with them the party’s performance in the recently held election and challenges before the new Government.

Sources said that the council of Ministers would be constituted after a three-day special Assembly session that has been called in the State capital Chandigarh on November 4.

It will take at least a week more for the induction of 11 Ministers in the Cabinet, a senior BJP legislator said.

On the first day of the session, all 90 legislators will take oath of office. On the second and the third day, there will be the Governor''s address and the reply to his address, respectively.

Chief Minister Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala, who held the first State Cabinet meeting on October 29, are yet to assume charge in the Secretariat.  Khattar and Dushyant took the oath on October 27 after a post-poll alliance.

"Now the process is on to constitute a committee, comprising both BJP and JJP leaders, to formulate a common minimum programme ahead of the induction of council of ministers," said a BJP legislator.

Dushyant, the great grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister the late Devi Lal, won 10 seats in the 90-member house by wooing the youth for whom he promised 75 per cent reservation in private jobs and to reduce long distances that the unemployed have to travel for recruitment examinations.

The BJP came to power with a pledge to give an interest-free crop loan of up to `3 lakh to farmers, besides setting up a Ministry of Youth Development and Self Employment and imparting skills to 25 lakh youth at an outlay of `500 crore.

There may be some understanding of giving three berths to both the JJP and independents and the BJP wants to keep the remaining eight posts in the council of Ministers, said a source.

KHATTAR INTROSPECTS PERFORMANCE WITH FORMER CABINET COLLEAGUES

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Khattar on Friday held a meeting with the party leaders who held ministerial positions in the previous Government to review the losses suffered by the BJP in the recently concluded Assembly polls.

A discussion was held on the reasons behind the losses suffered by the party and the defeat of a majority of Ministers, BJP leader Krishan Kumar Bedi said here after the meeting.

 He said it was discussed as to how the the party was reduced to just 40 seats and the former Ministers gave a detailed information about their defeat.

In the just concluded polls, eight of the 10 Ministers fielded by the BJP had tasted defeat with only two of them--Anil Vij and Banwari Lal-- retaining their seats.

Two ministers in the previous cabinet, Vipul Goel and Rao Narbir Singh, were denied tickets by the party.

Those who lost the elections were Ram Bilas Sharma, Capt Abhimanyu, Om Prakash Dhankar, Kavita Jain, Krishan Lal Panwar, Manish Kumar Grover, Krishan Kumar Bedi and Karan Dev Kamboj. All former ministers were present during the meeting. In the 2014 polls, the BJP had won 47 seats, forming its first-ever government in Haryana.Earlier in the year, it had won the Jind bypolls, taking its tally to 48.

After being reduced to 40 seats in the recently held elections, the party formed the government in the state with with the support of JJP 10 MLAs and seven Independents.

Improving its tally, the Congress won 31 seats, while the INLD and the Haryana Lokhit Party bagged one seat each.