As Narendra Modi takes oath as the Prime Minister for the third time, speculations are rife about the council of ministers who will be sworn in with him in the Cabinet.
The list of ministers will be handed over only a few hours ahead of the ceremony. However, reports are that as many as 30 ministers are likely to take oath today along with PM-designate Narendra Modi.
All crucial portfolios like defence, finance and external affairs will be held by the BJP, the largest party in the alliance. The party may also keep Education and Culture.
Meanwhile, talks are on with allies, including Telugu Desam Party, JD(U), Shiv Sena and LJP to finalise their representation in the new government. Speculations are that allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
While senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh will likely be included in the new Cabinet, other names doing the rounds include former chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Basavaraj Bommai (Karnataka), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and Sarbananda Sonowal (Assam). Tripura's former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb is also likely to be inducted.
Ram Mohan Naidu of the TDP, Lalan Singh, Sanjay Jha and Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), and Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) are among the allies who may be a part of the new government.
As for TDP, the names doing rounds include Ram Mohan Naidu, Harish Balayogi and Daggumalla Prasad. Other names include Naidu's son Nara Lokesh and Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani.
RLD leader Jayanth Chaudary is another ally, who is likely to be inducted into the new Cabinet.
As for Shiv Sena, there are reports that Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde may pick senior leaders and not his son for Cabinet. Shiv Sena might ask for one Cabinet berth in the new government and will not insist on any particular portfolio. The names of Srirang Barne (Maval) and Prataprao Jadhav (Buldhana) are doing the rounds.
