Modi 3.0 Cabinet: Who Gets What Ministry? Key Meeting Today (image-twitter/narendramodi)
In the key meeting today with the newly elected MPs of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the list of the cabinets will be finalised. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing ceremony for the third consecutive term will be held on Sunday along with the new cabinet ministers.
As per a report, the BJP has asserted control over crucial portfolios like Defence, Finance, Home and Foreign Affairs.
TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and JDU’s Nitish Kumar have publicly accepted the proposal to elect Modi as the alliance’s prime ministerial candidate. It is said that the leaders have given their written support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the speculation that they could be approached by the opposition leaders.
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BJP won 240 Lok Sabha seats but was shot of 32 to be the majority. The four allies that helped the BJP reach the majority are N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP (16 seats), Nitish Kumar’s JDU (12 seats), Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena (7 seats) and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (5 seats).
Since TDP and JDU have emerged as the key players in the alliance, they may seek important positions in the Union Cabinet eyeing their preferred ministers. Based on the initial discussions, the allies are demanding one minister for every four MPs. TDP is seeking four cabinet berths, JDU for three ministers reportedly.
Similarly, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction and the LJP of Chirag Paswan are also seeking key portfolios. As the latter have won 7 seats and the former five, each of them expects two ministers.
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As per the report, Chandrababu Naidu is eyeing the position of Lok Sabha speaker, but the BJP appears unwilling to accept this demand. TDP may also demand the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The opposition INDIA bloc, defying all the exit polls, swept 232 seats. They have emerged as a real challenge to the BJP for the first time since the ‘Modi wave’ in 2014.
