As the BJP swept to power with a spectacular performance for a second term, all eyes are now on government formation, amid speculation that several new faces including party president Amit Shah may be brought into the new cabinet.
BJP sources indicated that swearing-in ceremony of the primeminister and his council of ministers could take place on May 30.
The newly-elected MPs of the BJP-led NDA will meet onSaturday to formally elect Modi as their leader, setting in motion the process toform a new dispensation.
Many BJP leaders are of the view that Shah will join theModi Cabinet and is expected to be given one of the four key ministries —Home, Finance, External Affairs and Defence.
In the run-up to the results, Shah had also sidesteppedqueries on him joining the government, saying it is the prerogative of theparty and the Prime Minister.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to continuewith a key role in the new government. With Smriti Irani handing a shock defeatto Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, it is expected that the party mayreward her with an important responsibility.
A number of senior faces from the outgoing cabinet includingRajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Narendra SinghTomar and Prakash Javadekar are set to figure in the new cabinet.
Among allies, Shiv Sena and JD(U) are likely to be givencabinet berths as both the parties have done exceedingly well, winning 18 and16 respectively. The party will reward new faces from states like West Bengal,Odisha and Telangana where it has made significant inroads.
The 17th Lok Sabha has to be constituted before June 3 andthe process to form a new House will be initiated when the three ElectionCommissioners meet the President in the next few days to hand over the list ofnewly-elected members.All the newly-elected BJP MPs are expected tomeet Saturday to elect Modi as their leader, following which he will meet thepresident to stake claim to form the new government, party sources said.