Modi meets Advani, Joshi; readies team
Sushma, Venkaiah, Shah in talks with RSS PM- designate set to meet Prez tomorrow
● Advani likely to be Speaker; RSS doesn’t want him as NDA chairman
Hectic parleys were held till late on Sunday between top BJP and RSS leaders over the composition of the Cabinet in a Narendra Modi- led government. Though the RSS said it does not interfere in the BJP’s functioning, the Sangh is expected to have a decisive say on what shape the Modi Cabinet takes.
Prime Minister- designate Narendra Modi had a series of meetings with top party figures, including Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, former Karnataka CM B. S. Yeddyurappa and senior leader Ananth Kumar, also met veteran leaders Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi on Sunday. Speculation is rife that Mr Advani will be made Lok Sabha Speaker as the RSS is not in favour of allowing him to remain NDA chairman, as he desires. Mr Modi also met Bihar in- charge Dharmendra Pradhan over developments in the state after chief minister Nitish Kumar’s resignation on Saturday, as well as with close aide and UP in- charge Amit Shah. RSS joint general secretary Suresh Soni also met Mr Modi. Sources said the new government could be formed by May 25.
Top leaders of the BJP, including Sushma Swaraj, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Amit Shah, Kalraj Mishra, Ananth Kumar, Sumitra Mahajan, Gopinath Munde and Harsh Vardhan, among others, met top RSS leaders, including Bhaiyya Joshi, who have been camping in Delhi. BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy also met the RSS leaders.
The BJP parliamentary party will meet on Tuesday when its newly- elected MPs will formally elect Mr Modi as its leader. Sources said that Mr Modi could visit President Pranab Mukherjee later on Tuesday to stake his claim for government formation. Senior Gujarat minister Anandiben Patel is, meanwhile, said to be the frontrunner to succeed Mr Modi as chief minister. The BJP legislature party in Gujarat will meet on May 21 to elect its new leader.
Sources said the final touches had been given to Cabinet portfolios and that Mr Modi’s team will have adequate representation from major states, including from the Northeast. Ahead of May 16, when the BJP got absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, resumes
■ Continued from Page 1 of NDA leaders had reached Gandhinagar for shortlisting.
Mr Modi, who reached Gujarat Bhavan here from Varanasi late on Saturday night, drove to Mr Advani’s residence post noon. Later in the evening he also met Dr Joshi. Earlier, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan along with his wife and son Chirag, also met Mr Modi. Another ally, Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio, who heads the Naga People’s Front and has won the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state, also met Mr Modi. Mr Rio also met BJP chief Rajnath Singh. Senior leader Arun Jaitley, general secretary ( organisation) Ramlal and Amit Shah also held a meeting with Mr Rajnath Singh. Mr Modi is likely to hold a public meeting at Maninagar in Ahmedabad on May 20. Mr Modi was representing that Assembly constituency, from where he will now tender his resignation.