Putting at rest uncertainty over his inclusion in the Union Cabinet, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Thursday that BJP chief Amit Shah had asked him to take up any assignment he is offered at the Centre, and that he was willing to shoulder the responsibility.
He also said that though he did not feel comfortable about shifting to Delhi, he would take up the responsibility “if the nation requires” his services.
“Party president Amit Shah spoke to me in the morning and asked me to accept any assignment that would be given by the Prime Minister,” Parrikar told reporters at Panaji, Goa.
However, he did not say whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered him the Defence portfolio during their meeting on Wednesday night.
“I want to give proper information as far as joining the Cabinet is concerned. It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister. However, I would like to say that the party has indicated to me that if such an assignment comes, you should accept it,” he said.
Parrikar said if any offer had to come, it would have to be before November 9, when the Union Cabinet would be expanded. Parrikar said that he has yet to receive an official offer as of now and added that the decision would be made on November 8 at the Parliamentary Board meeting in Delhi.
It is expected that at least six to seven new faces, including Parrikar could be inducted into the Council of Ministers.
Senior BJP leaders JP Nadda (Himachal Pradesh) and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (UP) are hot aspirants for Cabinet posts. Among other names doing the rounds for a Cabinet berth are senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha’s son and Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh MP Jayant Sinha and Chandrapur BJP Hansraj Ahir (Maharashtra) who had shot into the limelight for exposing the coal scam.
Ministers of States like Prakash Javadekar and Nirmala Sitharaman may get elevated to Cabinet ranks. There is
also speculation that HRD Minister Smriti Irani could be the new Information and Broadcasting Minister.
Two BJP MPs from Bihar, Ram Kripal Yadav and Giriraj Singh are also in the reckoning in the proposed expansion of Modi’s Council of Ministers.
Ch Birender Singh from Haryana and Bandaru Dattatreya from Telangana are probables for the Council of Ministers.
BJP’s youth wing head and two-time MP from Himachal Pradesh Anurag Thakur is also seen as a ministerial candidate. There will be additional representation for Rajasthan, sources said. Thus far Rajasthan, where the BJP swept the lok Sabha polls has one representation in the Cabinet. Colonel Sonaram Choudhary and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, both from Rajasthan may get entry into the Cabinet.
In addition, allies like Shiv Sena and TDP are expected to find more place in the Government, sources said. Shiv Sena, which has only one Minister in the Cabinet, is reportedly negotiating for Anil Desai who could be inducted as a second Minister from that party as part of a compromise for not pressing for a Sena Deputy Chief Minister in Maharashtra.
A Sena leader revealed in Mumbai on Thursday that two of its MPs would be inducted into the Union Council of Ministers. “We have got a call from the Prime Minister’s Office requesting us to recommend two names that we feel should be included in Modi’s
Cabinet. Though we have several names, Uddhav will send his recommendation by Friday morning,” a Sena MP said.
The Cabinet expansion may witness change of portfolios, depending on “performance evaluation,” sources said.
Consultations with BJP allies like Telugu Desam Party were underway with its leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, giving enough indications on Thursday about the Cabinet expansion.
“You will know details about the Cabinet expansion in two days,” said Naidu, who walked off the stage for a few minutes during an interview at the World Economic Forum’s India summit here to attend a phone call but refused to identify the caller.
Meanwhile, Modi visited Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning to attend a Gurbani recital to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. As against reports of new inductions in the Cabinet, PMO sources maintained that the visit was purely for the Gurbani programme being held there and which was also attended by Vice-President Hamid Ansari among others.
There are currently 22 Cabinet members and the same number of Ministers of State, including ten with Independent charge. Many BJP leaders like Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Prakash Javadekar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal have charge of multiple Ministries. And the exercise is aimed to streamline the portfolios.
The key portfolios of Defence and Finance are handled by Arun Jaitley, which is considered an uphill task. Ravi Shankar Prasad (Information Technology and law) and Prakash Javadekar (Information and Broadcasting, and Environment) are also handling two Ministries each.
Barring Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj (External Affairs) and Rajnath Singh (Home), Nitin Gadkari (Transport), the Modi Cabinet is missing on political heavyweights and may require enough talent to implement “the high energy” schemes inspired by the Modi-dispensation.