Modi to be elected LS leader today

New Delhi: Prime Minister-Elect Narendra Modi is all set to be elected leader of the BJP and NDA Parliamentary Party on Tuesday, after which formally a claim will be made before President Pranab Mukherjee for forming the next Government. Top NDA leaders are expected to be present on the occasion, who will be carrying along with them to the President their Letters of Support to the BJP-led NDA government.

The Gujarat Bhawan in the capital has turned into a beehive of political activity, with senior leaders calling on Narendra Modi and lobbying for Ministerial berths. Besides Arun Jaitley and Amit Shah, who were closeted with Modi, the others, who called on the Prime Minister-Elect, included Sushma Swaraj, who has already made known her liking for anyone of the top four Ministries – Defence, External Affairs, Finance and Home.

If sources are to be believed, Modi wants his own confidantes in the Ministry and would not prefer Sushma in the top four. He is willing to give her HRD, so far. Similarly, he is interested to give Finance Ministry to a technocrat or Arun Shourie and may prefer to give External Affairs to Arun Jaitley. Like Rajnath Singh, who will not be comfortable to work under him, Modi, too, would want him to continue as the BJP President. However, the name of O P Mathur has also cropped up, along with J P Nadda, in the race for the top position.

Both Mathur and Nadda are the close associates of Narendra Modi. Former BJP President Nitin Gadkari will be comfortable with any Infrastructure Ministry, including Railways or Highways. Senior leaders like M Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar and B S Yeddyurappa are also in the race for Ministerial berths.

Interestingly, with Modi busy meeting top leaders and Allies like Ram Vilas Paswan and MDMK leader Vaiko, the second-rung leaders met BJP President Rajnath Singh. Varun Gandhi, Uma Bharti, Najma Heptullah, C P Thakur, Anurag Thakur, Gopinath Munde and Vijay Goel, all called on the BJP President, besides former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh. It may be recalled that he quit as Mumbai Police Commissioner to contest the Lok Sabha polls as a BJP candidate in Uttar Pradesh, pulling off an impressive win in Baghpat by defeating Rahstriya Lok Dal Chief and Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh.

Among the youngsters, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who defeated Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi in Saran, Shahnawaz Hussain, who had earlier held the portfolio of Civil Aviation, M A Naqvi, who successfully carried out the campaign from the BJP headquarters, Meenakshi Lekhi, the firebrand spokesperson alongwith Prakash Javadekar and Smriti Irani, whom Modi called his younger sister, are all likely to be adjusted in the Union Cabinet.