Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
BJP chief
Rajnath Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning after discussions with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS senior leader Suresh Soni.
Mr Singh reportedly discussed with Mr Soni and other RSS leaders who would take over from him as BJP chief, now that he is the country's home minister. The BJP does not allow party leaders to hold dual charge.
Sources said Mr Singh and the RSS leaders also discussed Mr Modi's new council of ministers and omissions in it. The states of Rajasthan, Himachal and Uttarakhand, which handed big wins to the BJP in the general elections, are seen as poorly represented in Mr Modi's team. There is one minister of state from Rajasthan and none from the two hill states.
(Narendra Modi's Council of Ministers: Complete List)Mr Modi took oath as Prime Minister on Monday evening along with 45 ministers. A cabinet expansion is expected in a few weeks.
With several important BJP office-bearers, apart from Mr Singh, joining the Narendra Modi government as ministers, an organisational revamp is on the cards for the party. (
For Backing Modi as PM, Rajnath Singh Gets a Plum Posting)
Mr Singh was picked to be BJP chief by the RSS, the BJP's ideological mentor, early last year. Party general secretary J P Nadda, 54, is seen as the frontrunner to replace him.
Party general secretaries
Ananth Kumar,
Dharmendra Pradhan and
Thawar Chand Gehlot have also become Union ministers. So have Smriti Irani and Jual Oram, who are vice-presidents and
Piyush Goyal, who is the treasurer.
Nirmala Sitharaman and Prakash Javadekar, who have been functioning as BJP spokespersons, are now ministers too. They will all need to be replaced in the party.
Now that the BJP is in power at the Centre, party-government coordination will also be an important point of discussion.