Even as the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government is all set to take oath on Sunday evening, negotiations are still on over the nature and participation of the BJP’s allies in the coalition government. Reports said the Telugu Desam Party will get four cabinet berths while the Janata Dal (United) two.
The JD(U) has proposed its two senior leaders Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur to the union cabinet, the NDTV reported on Saturday. Lalan Singh won the Lok Sabha polls from Munger constituency while Ram Nath Thakur, son of Bharat Ratna receipient Karpoori Thakur, is a Rajya Sabha MP.
As per the report, Ram Mohan Naidu, Harish Balayogi and Daggumalla Prasad are among the four TDP leaders who may join the cabinet.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
Modi is set to take oath for a third straight term, equalling the feat of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as the head of a coalition government after two full tenures in which the BJP enjoyed a majority on its own.
The BJP won 240 seats in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, falling short of the halfway mark in the 543-member House, but the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) together won 293 seats, which is a comfortable majority. The JD(U) has won 12 seats.
The BJP is keen to send out a message of continuity and ward off any impression of political vulnerability following its surprising below-par show in the polls.
Soon after the election results were declared, speculations were abuzz that Nitish was being wooed by the INDIA bloc which was also exploring possibilities of government formation after winning 232 seats.
