No riders by allies, BJP to keep key ministries, Speaker’s post
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, June 6
Newly elected MPs of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including the BJP, will meet here on Friday to elect Narendra Modi as their leader, paving the way for his third term and for him to stake claim to form the government.
Editorial: Economic hurdles
Ahead of the crucial meeting, the top BJP brass huddled in the national capital for nearly six hours on Thursday to finalise the contours of the new Council of Ministers.
BJP chief JP Nadda, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and BJP national general secretaries BL Santosh and Tarun Chugh were among those who attended. Santosh is the pointman between the BJP and the RSS.
The Tribune has learnt that the BJP will retain all top ministries — Defence, Home, External Affairs, Finance and Infrastructure, key to India’s growth as the world’s third largest economy, a key Modi promise.
The BJP will also keep the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post with top sources saying none of the NDA allies had placed any pre-conditions.
“The NDA is based on trust. All allies trust that the PM will do what is best for the country. For us, power is a medium to serve the nation,” a senior minister said, adding that what was due to allies would go to them.
The sources also cited Modi 2.0 in which major allies were given ministerial roles even though the BJP had full majority (303 MPs) on its own and did not need to keep allies in the Council of Ministers.
TDP leaders were part of the Modi Cabinet until 2018 when Naidu quit protesting denial of special status to Andhra Pradesh. The TDP had one Cabinet (Civil Aviation) and one MoS (IT) berth at that time.
Likewise, JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar was offered one Cabinet post like all other allies but he had refused to join the government because he wanted four.
The situation today is different with the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP and the Nitish Kumar-led JD (U) in pole positions in the NDA.
With the BJP restricted to 240 MPs — below the 272 majority mark in the Lok Sabha — the TDP with 16 and the JD(U) with 12 MPs are critical to the stability of the new dispensation.
The JD (U) is learnt to have asked for three Cabinet berths — Railways, Jal Shakti and Rural Development, a common minimum programme for the alliance, NDA convener’s post and a special financial package for Bihar.
The TDP, meanwhile, is keen on three to four berths in the Union Council of Ministers, with sources saying it wanted Finance but might settle for the MoS, Finance.
BJP negotiators are engaged with key allies on non-negotiables with top sources saying both Naidu and Nitish have “placed their trust in the PM, who will finalise the portfolios”.
The Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker’s position is on the table for friendly parties. Importantly in the outgoing LS, there was no Deputy Speaker. The BJP had wanted to give it to the BJD, but the BJD had not zeroed in on any leader. BJP sources also said all alliance partners would be part of Modi 3.0 Council of Ministers.
From the JD(U), former party president Lalan Singh and Devesh Chandra Thakur, a first-time MP from Sitamarhi and former Bihar Speaker, are among the frontrunners for Cabinet posts. Modi is likely to take oath as the PM for the third time on June 9.
TDP pitches for 3-4 berths, eyes Finance
The N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party is learnt to have pitched for three or four berths in the Council of Ministers with sources saying it is keen on the Finance portfolio, even Minister of State, and may also seek IT, besides special financial assistance for Andhra where it is keen to develop the capital city of Amravati. The TDP has sought the Speaker’s post, but may have to settle for the post of Deputy Speaker. The TDP in NDA 2.0 had one Cabinet (Civil Aviation) and one MoS berth (IT) when it had 16 MPs.
JD(U) keen on Rlys, spl package for Bihar
The JD(U) is learnt to be seeking three Cabinet positions — Railways, Rural Development and Jal Shakti. A JD(U) source said the NDA convener’s post was also a probable negotiation point, besides a special package for Bihar, caste census and a review of the Agnipath scheme. In NDA 2.0, Nitish Kumar, who along with the BJP had won 39 of Bihar’s 40 seats in the 2019 poll, had refused to join the Modi Cabinet as he had been offered one Cabinet position whereas he had asked for four. Later, Nitish had quit the NDA to join the Mahagathbandhan.
