Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi for the third consecutive term, a high level meeting of BJP top brass held at the residence of Amit Shah to finalise the composition of new Cabinet in the Modi 3.0. BJP national president JP Nadda and national general secretary BL Santosh attended the meeting.
Sources said the BJP is likely to keep Home, Finance, External Affairs, Railways, Road and Transport, Law and Justice, Information Technology, and Education Ministries. The alliance partners are likely to get 12 to 15 Ministries. The NDA partners might not have some of their big demands met, despite speculations to the contrary. The JD (U) has asked for Railways and is persistently pressing on it. The TDP has asked for Information Technology, which it is likely to not get.
Telangana BJP may get four Ministries and JD (United) three seats each. Three of the four TDP leaders who may find a place in PM Modi’s new Cabinet are - Ram Mohan Naidu, Harish Balayogi and Daggumalla Prasad. JD (U) has proposed the name of two senior leaders - Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur. Lalan Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bihar’s Munger, while Ram Nath Thakur is a Rajya Sabha MP. Thakur is the son of Bharat Ratna receipient Karpoori Thakur.
The JD (U) and TDP both are interested in funds for the development of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh respectively. The Tribal Affairs Ministry is likely to go with an NDA ally while the Ministry of Power may go with TDP or JD (U). From Shiv Sena Prataprao Jadhav name is being discussed.
There is no indication yet on how many Ministers will be sworn in, though it is expected to be at least a 30-member strong Cabinet.
It is also being considered that in first round of Cabinet formation there would be one MP from major allies to be given Cabinet berth. As per sources, JD (S), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM, Shiv Sena, NCP, RLD and Apna Dal (S) could have one Minister each. From JD(S) HD Kumaraswamy, Jayant Chaudhary of RLD, Chirag Paswan of LJP (Ram Vilas) and Anupriya Patel of Apnal Dal (S) may become Ministers. JD(S) is eyeing Agriculture Ministry.
Bihar BJP and JD (United) will get equal number of ministries in view of next year Assembly polls in the State. Telangana BJP may get four ministries and Odisha can get lion share of six to seven Ministries.
Shah and Singh are seen within the party as a certainty in the new Cabinet, former Chief Ministers who have won the Lok Sabha polls like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Basavaraj Bommai, Manohar Lal Khattar and Sarbananda Sonowal are strong contenders for joining the Government.
BJP leadership had earlier met their National Democratic Alliance partners discuss their cabinet berths on Friday. Nadda, Shah held discussion with JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and Shiv Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. After discussing with allies, Nadda and Shah held discussions with senior BJP leader and outgoing Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
According to sources, impending changes within the BJP’s organisation will also be on the mind of its brain trust in finalising the names of ministers from the party.
Nadda’s term was extended due to the Lok Sabha polls, and organisational imperatives will be an important consideration for the party as the poll results have sent signals that all may not be well within its vast machinery. This opens the possibility of some seasoned hand being sent to the party and Nadda being given a berth in the Government, the sources said.
The BJP is keen to send out a message of continuity and ward off any impression of political vulnerability following its surprising below-par show in the Lok Sabha polls as its seat tally fell to 240 from 303, considerably short of the majority mark of 272. The BJP won 240 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, but fell 32 short of the majority mark. The four allies whose support is critical for the BJP to reach the majority are Naidu’s TDP, which has won 16 seats, Kumar’s JDU (12), Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena (7) and Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (5).
