Shah-Rajnath’s return is certain, Nadda also gets a chance, how much space will JDU get in Modi 3.0 cabinet?

New Delhi: In the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, leaders like Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh from BJP are considered certain to be included in the new cabinet. Former Chief Ministers who won the Lok Sabha elections like Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Basavaraj Bommai, Manohar Lal Khattar and Sarbananda Sonowal are strong contenders to join the government. There is also a possibility of sending an experienced person in the party and giving J.P. Nadda a place in the government.

How many ministers from which quota?
Sources said Telugu Desam Party’s Ram Mohan Naidu, JDU’s Lallan Singh, Sanjay Jha and Ramnath Thakur, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)’s Chirag Paswan are among the allies who could be part of the new government. Maharashtra, where the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has fared poorly, and Bihar, where the opposition has shown signs of a comeback, could be in focus during the government formation exercise. Maharashtra is due to hold assembly elections in October, while Bihar will go to polls next year. Changes in the BJP’s organisation will also be on the selectors’ mind while finalising the names of the party’s ministers. The BJP has got 240 seats in the general election, which is 32 short of the majority figure. The party had won 303 seats in the 2019 elections. Meanwhile, the Congress said on Saturday that the leaders of India have not received an invitation for Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. It will be considered after receiving the invitation.

What will be the challenge before the government?
The government that BJP has run at the Centre since 2014 till now was a government with full majority on its own. But for the first time, Narendra Modi has to lead such a government in which the support of allies is necessary for majority. However, in the NDA parliamentary party meeting, Modi clearly said that consensus is necessary to run the country. Its message was clear that he/she will take allies along. However, if we look at the history of JDU, it has left BJP earlier also. TDP has also separated from NDA earlier. In such a situation, keeping all of them together for five years would be a challenge. BJP also has to move ahead on its agenda, but this would not be possible without the support of allies. It is possible that NDA may also decide on a common minimum programme.