Advani not averse to Speaker’s post; Rajnath requests party patriarch to convince Sushma
Ahead of lok Sabha election results on Friday, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is understood to have “indicated” to party leaders that if the party is voted to power “all BJP heavyweights”, including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj, should be part of the Cabinet headed by him.
Even as Swaraj apparently remained away from the hectic parleys within the party, BJP president Rajnath Singh reportedly requested BJP patriarch lK Advani to “convince” her to take “the Cabinet responsibility” under the likely Modi Government. Sushma was not part of the Tuesday meeting at Gandhinagar where Modi, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Nitish Gadkari held a marathon discussion on the Government formation. There is speculation about Sushma’s reluctance to be part of a BJP dispensation at the Centre unless she is given one of the top portfolios of her choice.
Singh met Advani at latter’s residence and also discussed party veteran’s role in the situation emerging after Friday’s counting of votes. According to a report, Advani has been offered the post of Speaker of the lok Sabha, which he was not averse to accept. As a Speaker, the BJP veteran will not required to report to Modi.
According to sources, in the event of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gaining majority on its own, Modi would like that Rajnath Singh and former party chief Gadkari take Cabinet responsibilities. However, if Rajnath Singh joins the government, the party will need a new president for which, according to sources, “the search has already begun”.
Making it clear that the BJP in the saddle would require “experience” and “talent” to speedily implement the promises made in the party manifesto, the party’s prime ministerial candidate has maintained that none among “the senior leaders” need to sit outside the Government.
Earlier this month, Rajnath Singh had hinted that he would not be part of the Modi-led NDA Government if it came to power and would prefer to be the BJP president.
“I am the president of the party. My responsibilities have been fixed beforehand. When I wasn’t the president, I was in the Government. My responsibilities are already decided and I think, in the BJP, I have many colleagues who are capable and should be given a chance in the Government,” Singh said in a television interview.
The view to have “all tall leaders” in the Cabinet emerged after Modi and Rajnath held series of consultations with each other as also with the RSS leadership in New Delhi. Five-day ahead of the counting, Singh had met RSS leader Bhaiyaji Joshi and RSS point man in dealing with BJP Suresh Soni at the RSS office in Jhandewalan. Prior to this, Modi had met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
On Thursday, Singh again met RSS leader Soni, discussing changes in the BJP’s organisation in the light of the party forming next Government.
Besides the revamp of the party, the BJP president and Soni discussed the political situation that is likely to emerge after Friday’s results. The meeting at Rajnath’s residence was also attended by party’s organisational general secretary Ramlal. Continuing the consultation process, Gadkari too met Soni.
The meeting comes close on the heels of Rajnath’s meeting with Modi in Ahmedabad, where Jaitley and Gadkari were also present.
According to sources, besides Gadkari, Deputy leader of the Opposition in the outgoing lok Sabha Gopinath Munde could be another BJP leader from Maharashtra who could be included in the Cabinet.
Seven-time lok Sabha member Maneka Gandhi, who met Rajnath Singh this week, “has also been sounded” on her possible inclusion in the Cabinet. Party general secretary Varun Gandhi also met Gadkari at his residence on Thursday. It is understood that Modi, who has yet not fully outlined his “Cabinet construction strategy”, may bring in some of his key confidante from Gujarat in the Union Cabinet.
With the count-down for the results on Friday already begun BJP leader Uma Bharti on Thursday met veteran leader lK Advani at his residence in the national capital. Bharti, who has contested the lok Sabha polls from Jhansi, also met Gadkari at the latter’s residence.
While speculation is rife about the role of BJP’s patriarch lK Advani in Modi’s Cabinet, the party’s president on Thursday met the former at his residence. The meeting between the two is expected to bring out the clear picture on Advani’s role.
Singh had earlier said that the top party leaders will meet and decide the roles of the veterans, including Advani and MM Joshi, “after consulting them.”