New Delhi: With too many names and not enough vacancies, silent lobbying has begun among leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies to seek a position in the Union Cabinet.
With the BJP getting 303 seats and increasing its presence in West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka, among other states, party observers say that the BJP leadership will give more representation to MPs from these three states.
From Bihar, where the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 39 of the 40 seats, the number of ministers who will come from BJP will decrease substantially this time, as unlike in 2014, the party will also have to give representation to Janata Dal United (JDU) MPs and to its other alliance partner, the Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which is pushing for the induction of Chirag Paswan, Ram Vilas Paswan’s son in the Council of Ministers. Party leaders said that it was difficult to confirm whether BJP MPs from Bihar, such as Ashwini Choubey, Giriraj Singh, R.K. Singh, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Radha Mohan Singh, who were a part of the previous Cabinet, would be given a place in the Cabinet this time or not.
From Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP won 28 of the 29 seats, supporters of leaders belonging to the forward castes are pushing for their leaders, as the BJP has been accused by forward caste voters of the state of sidelining them and appeasing the backward castes. This was one reason, strategists believe, that the party lost the 2018 Assembly elections in MP.
In the outgoing Cabinet, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Narendra Singh Tomar from Madhya Pradesh were given space.
MP BJP president Rakesh Singh, who defeated Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha from Jabalpur, is likely to be given a place in the Cabinet. Similarly, Delhi-based party strategists say that K.P. Singh, who did the unimaginable by defeating Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna, has created a strong case for himself for a place in the Cabinet, as this will give the right signals to the party workers. The party is also looking at Vishnu Datt Sharma, a prominent RSS face, who won from Khajuraho, in the same context.
Similarly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to make a place for the Shiv Sena in the Cabinet, which is further going to decrease the number of positions available for BJP MPs.
BJP leaders say that the Cabinet composition will have a distinct Modi stamp as the entire party realises that the massive win has been possible because of the PM rather than individual MPs and that he is under no obligation to oblige anyone, but take decisions on merit.
A Union Minister said: “The caste barrier has been breached in this election because of Modi and it is a foregone conclusion that people will be given a place on merit, rather than on the basis of their caste certificate.”
Party sources said that from the previous Cabinet, leaders like Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goel, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajya Vardhan Rathore were certain to get ministerial berths, while hinting that Smriti Irani was going to be given a “big” responsibility, either in the Cabinet or in the party.
From West Bengal, the name of Mukul Roy is being seen as a certainty, as the party wants to reward him for helping it win 18 seats in the state. Babul Supriyo, who regained his seat from Asansol, might not find a place this time in the Cabinet as the party is looking for some other name from the list of 18 who have won, to give impetus to party workers in the state in view of the Assembly elections slated for April 2021.
From Delhi, state party president Manoj Tiwari’s name is being floated by his supporters, who are crediting his reach among the Purvanchali voters for the BJP’s performance in the national capital. On the other hand, Pravesh Verma, who won from West Delhi by polling more than 8.5 lakh votes, is also seeking a place on “merit”.
From Jharkhand, former Chief Minister Arjun Munda is a certainty, as the BJP is worried about the anti-tribal image that it has got in the state and the party believes that inducting Munda will give the right signals to the tribal voters. The Assembly elections in the state are slated for later this year in November.
The name of Union Health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe are doing the rounds for the post of party president, as present party president Amit Shah, who won his maiden Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar, is likely to move to the Cabinet, possibly as Home Minister. However, there is a very strong possibility, as the Union Minister quoted above stated, that a new name apart from these two might emerge depending on whom Modi and Shah trust the most.
This has left little option for the party to place the present Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who has also been the party president, apart from giving him the Ministry of Defence, which, along with the Ministries of Home, Finance and External Affairs, constitute the all-important Cabinet Committee on Security. BJP sources said that Singh might even be considered for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker.