On the eve of his swearing-in for a second term, Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday 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 PiyushGoyal, 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 LokSabha 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 ofthe four major portfolios; finance, home, defence or external affairs.
The BJP has refrained from making any official comment aboutthe likely members of the government, with its leaders insisting that it is theprime minister’s prerogative.
Senior party leaders like Rajnath Singh, NitinGadkari,NirmalaSitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi ShankarPrasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and SmritiIrani, who defeated Congress president RahulGandhi in Amethi, are likely to join the second Modi government after being itsmembers in its first avatar. Singh also met Modi on Wednesday