With the Lok Sabha poll results out, attention has shifted to the likely shape of PM Modi’s new team. It’s not just officers and journalists who are speculating about the shape of PM Narendra Modi’s new council of ministers which is likely to be sworn in next week. Even ministers in the outgoing government seem to be apprehensive about their return after BJP’s landslide win.
It is widely believed that after the BJP’s stunning election victory, the party chief and political strategist Amit Shah, who has made his debut in the Lok Sabha, will earn his reward in the form of a high-profile ministry.
A call on Shah’s new role can be tricky because of the transformation he brought about in BJP, turning what was a languid organisation into a relentless poll machine. There are doubts whether an effective substitute can be found.
New faces or old?
Reports say, the new council of ministers is likely to be different from the earlier one with some of the old faces either retiring from politics due to health and other factors or being replaced by a younger lot. Plus, leaders from states like West Bengal, where the BJP has made inroads and hopes to do well in future (assembly polls in the state are due in 2021), could be rewarded with a berth in the ministry.
What will allies get?
While the BJP doesn’t need outside support, some NDA allies are likely to figure in the cabinet, especially since the Lok Sabha polls may be over but the next round of assembly polls isn’t too far (Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand go to polls this year and UP in 2022).