Narendra Modi to meet those selected for ministerial berths before swearing-in

NEW DELHI: MPs selected for ministerial berths will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 4.30 pm on Thursday, shortly before the swearing-in ceremony, sources said.nnEarlier in the morning, the prime minister held a final round of consultations with BJP president Amit Shah to give shape to his council of ministers before sending the list to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.nnCapping a landslide election victory, Modi will take oath along with his new council of ministers at 7 pm.nnAs the party geared up for the celebrations, Shah’s Akbar Road residence was decked up.nnModi and Shah have held several rounds of discussions in the last two days ahead of government formation.nnOther senior party leaders such as Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are also likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar.nnThe others tipped to get a ministerial berth include Sadananda Gowda, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Giriraj Singh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Thawarchand Gehlot, Dilip Ghosh, Jitendra Singh, Mansukh Mandaviya, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Arjun Ram Meghawal and Niranjan Jyoti.nnSushma Swaraj is also likely to be part of the government.nnAmong some of the new faces that are likely to be inducted include Prahlad Patel from Madhya Pradesh, Kailash Chowdhry from Rajasthan, Krishna Reddy from Telangana and Suresh Angedi from Karnataka and Raosaheb Danve from Maharashtra.nnAmong allies, Ram Vilas Paswan of the LJP, Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena, Harsimrat Kaur Badal of Akali Dal and Ramdas Athawale of RPI(A) are likely to take oath, official sources said.nnThe sources said Modi government 2.0 is likely to showcase the party’s newfound strength in different regions.nnBJP allies like Shiv Sena, JD(U), AIADMK, LJP, Akali Dal and Apna Dal are set to be represented in the government.nnThe Shiv Sena has confirmed its leader Arvind Sawant, who defeated Congress heavyweight Milind Deora from Mumbai, will be its nominee in the council of ministers.nnThe Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel is likely to be in the council of ministers.nnFinance Minister Arun Jaitley’s decision to opt out on health grounds has fuelled speculation about who will get his coveted portfolio. Railway Minister Goyal, who filled in for Jaitley and presented the populist pre-election budget, is being seen as a key contender. There is also speculation that BJP president Amit Shah may join the government.nnThe BJP has refrained from making any official comment about the likely members of the government, with its leaders asserting that it is the prime minister’s prerogative.nnThe swearing-in ceremony in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is expected to be grand affair with more than 6,000 guests, including leaders from the BIMSTEC countries, opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, chief ministers, corporate honchos and film stars set to be in attendance as President Ram Nath Kovind administers the oath of office and secrecy to 68-year-old Modi and his ministerial colleagues.nnSource: Press Trust of India