The Bharatiya Janata Party’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), Andhra Pradesh CM-to-be Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, are learnt to have placed their demands to join the third Modi government. The constituents are reportedly negotiating with the BJP ministerial berths including some key Cabinet portfolios.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of NDA constituents at his residence in Delhi on Wednesday, when top leaders of the alliance participated to discuss the composition of the next government. The NDA leaders also deliberated on the 2024 Lok Sabha election results.
Besides Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu, Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy, Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan also attended the meeting.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP fell short of the majority mark in the Lok Sabha on its own, securing 240 seats in the 543-member House. However, the seats won by the BJP’s allies — TDP, JDU, Shiv Sena, and LJP(RV) among others — pushed the NDA’s number in the Lok Sabha to 292 mark, fairly above the half-way mark of 272.
Here’s a look at the wishlist of the BJP’s NDA partners to join the government:
Telugu Desam Party
Chandrababu Naidu’s party is pushing for at least four berths in the new government.
In 2014, Naidu’s TDP was allotted one Cabinet berth — civil aviation — and a Minister of State (MoS) position in the information technology ministry.
Now, MoS finance seems to be a key post that the TDP is pushing for, along with a couple of other ministers with the aim of helping Naidu fulfil the promises he made during the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls as his party routed the ruling YSR Congress Party of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
There is also a buzz that Andhra Pradesh could be promised more funds for the state’s development as Naidu has been campaigning for a special status for the state. It was one of the key issues over which he had parted ways with the first Modi government..
Janata Dal (United)
Nitish Kumar’s party is understood to be pushing for at least four berths in the Union Council of Ministers including a couple of Cabinet-rank members. The party is said to be eyeing railways, agriculture, rural development and jal shakti ministries in the third Modi government.
Names of two party leaders — Lallan Singh and Sanjay Jha — are already in circulation, creating a buzz for them being probable ministers in the next government.
In 2019, JDU wanted four Cabinet berths with 16 MPs, but did not join the government as their demand was not met by the BJP, which had a majority of its own in the Lok Sabha. This time, the JDU has 12 MPs but its relative position is stronger in the coalition.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)
Chirag Paswan, who leads Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), is upbeat about his prospects in the next government. His party has returned with a 100 per cent % strike rate in the Lok Sabha election from Bihar, where both the BJP and the JDU saw their candidates losing to their rivals.
The LJP(RV) won all five Lok Sabha seats it contested. Chirag Paswan aims to be a Cabinet-rank minister in the next government as his late father Ram Vilas Paswan was until his death in 2020.
Ram Vilas Paswan was the Cabinet-rank minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi governments. After he passed away, his brother Pasupati Nath Paras was inducted in the Council of Ministers as he broke away from the original LJP.
Shiv Sena
The Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena won seven seats and is likely to be in the next government at the Centre. The party is likely to get a Cabinet-rank minister and an MoS. The names of Shrikant Shinde and Shrirang Barne are doing the rounds as probable candidates.
Jana Sena Party
Another alliance partner from Andhra Pradesh is actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, which is also eyeing for a berth in the new government.
A clear picture of who gets what in the new government is likely to emerge over the weekend when Narendra Modi takes oath as the prime minister for the third consecutive time along with his new Council of Ministers.
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