NEW DELHI, May 29: On the eve of his swearing-in for a second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held a marathon meeting with BJP president Amit Shah as he gave final touches to the shape of his Government, which is likely to have representation from most allies and showcase the party’s newfound strength in different regions.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s decision to opt out on health grounds has fuelled speculation about who will get the coveted portfolio with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who filled in for Jaitley and presented the populist pre-election budget, being seen as a key contender.
There is also a buzz about Shah, who has been elected to Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar and is a key architect of his party’s landslide win, joining the Government.
If Shah joins the Modi Cabinet, he is likely to get one of the four major portfolios; Finance, Home, Defence or External Affairs.
The BJP has refrained from making any official comment about the likely members of the Government, with its leaders insisting that it is the Prime Minister’s prerogative.
Senior party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani, who defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, are likely to join the second Modi Government after being its members in its first avatar.
Singh also met Modi today. Some officials of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also met Shah at his residence.
The Prime Minister had held a long meeting with Shah on Tuesday too.
Though External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj did not contest the Lok Sabha elections on health grounds, there is a view within the party that she will also be a part of the new Cabinet.
About 60 Ministers may take oath.
Some party leaders are of the view that a few leaders from the organisation can also be rewarded with Ministerial berths.
If Shah joins the Government, then J P Nadda and Bhupender Yadav are seen as top choices for heading the party.
BJP allies like Shiv Sena, JD(U), AIADMK, LJP, Akali Dal and Apna Dal are also set to be represented in the Government.
Parties like Sena and JD(U) may get two berths as they are the largest constituents of the ruling National Democratic Alliance after the BJP, while others may get one berth each.
A BJP leader said the Government is likely to bear the stamp of the party’s impressive show in new regions like West Bengal, Odisha, North East and Telangana.
Modi, he said, may surprise with a few choices, referring to his decision to induct a number of former bureaucrats-turned-BJP leaders like R K Singh and Hardeep Puri in his Ministry during his first term.
Some party leaders believe that the Prime Minister may also induct leaders like Manoj Sinha, who lost the Lok Sabha polls but is seen as one of the “performing” Ministers of his first Government.
Top opposition leaders including Congress President Rahul Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, corporate honchos, film stars, Chief Ministers and a galaxy of leaders from BIMSTEC countries will be on hand to watch President Ram Nath Kovind administer the oath of office and secrecy to 68-year-old Modi and his Ministerial colleagues at the forecourt of majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan.
When Modi is sworn-in at around 7PM, it will be the second time he takes the oath at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Modi was sworn in by the then President Pranab Mukherjee in 2014 in the presence of over 3,500 guests including the heads of SAARC countries. Earlier, Chandra Shekhar in 1990 and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 were sworn in at the sprawling forecourt.
Leaders of BIMSTEC countries including President of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, President of Myanmar U Win Myint and Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering have already confirmed their attendance at the event.
From Thailand, its Special Envoy Grisada Boonrach will represent the country. Besides India, BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
The Government has also invited Kyrgyz President and current chair of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, and Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth for the event and both of them have confirmed their participation.
The opposition leaders who have been invited included TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, JD(S) leader and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Though Banerjee had initially said she will attend the event, but today she announced that she will skip it, taking strong note of BJP’s allegation that 54 of its workers had been killed in political violence in West Bengal.
The invitation to opposition leaders is seen as Modi’s move to reach out to them following the fiercely fought election in which the BJP registered a massive victory.
Modi led BJP to a back-to-back majority for a single party in over three decades with the party winning 303 out of 542 seats in the Lower House of parliament. (PTI)
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