This Article is From May 26, 2014

Early Morning Calls to BJP Leaders Confirm Cabinet Placements, Say Sources

Early Morning Calls to BJP Leaders Confirm Cabinet Placements, Say Sources

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad

New Delhi: Early on Monday morning, several BJP leaders have begun getting calls from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, fueling speculation that they could be part of Narendra Modi's council of ministers to be sworn in this evening when he takes oath as Prime Minister.

Sources said among those who had got a call were the BJP's articulate spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad and General VK Singh, former Army Chief and now BJP MP from Ghaziabad.

Late last evening Mr Modi confirmed that he will head a lean cabinet, guided by the principle of "minimum government and maximum governance." He is expected to merge and restructure several ministries and no more than 17 or 18 Cabinet rank ministers are expected to be sworn in with him this evening, in a council of ministers of about 40, sources said.

They also said that the 63-year-old Mr Modi is unlikely to have any minister older than 75, triggering more speculation about roles for the older powerhouses in the party.

What role party patriarch LK Advani will play is being watched with keen interest. Mr Advani, 86, once seen as Mr Modi's mentor, shared a tense relationship with him in the last few years. He has reportedly expressed a wish to be Lok Sabha speaker, but, sources said, eight-time BJP MP from Indore Sumitra Mahajan is the forerunner for that role. She is 71.

The 75 years cut-off also puts a question mark on a role for senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who is 80.

Among those expected to get frontline assignments are party president Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Shourie.

The statement from Mr Modi's office last night promised "organic ministries" and said, "The focus is on convergence in the activities of various Ministries where one cabinet Minister will be heading a cluster of Ministries who are working in complimentary sectors. Mr Modi is eventually aiming at Smart Governance where the top layers of Government will be downsized and there would be expansion at the grass root level (sic)."

Senior lawyers Uday Lalit and Mukul Rohatgi are the top contenders for the post of Attorney General, sources said.
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