Modi 3.0 Govt Formation: Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi on Sunday interacted during a tea meeting -- 'Chai Pe Charcha' -- with the newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) who are expected to be part of the NDA 3.0 government and likely to take oath of office along with PM Modi this evening.
The meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders was held at PM-designate Narendra Modi's residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg (LKM).
Narendra Modi will take oath as Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive time today at 7.15 pm.
BJP and alliance partner leaders who were present in the NDA meeting include Amit Shah (BJP), Nitin Gadkari (BJP), Jyotiraditya Scindia (BJP), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (BJP), Piyush Goyal (BJP), Nirmala Sitharaman (BJP), Ashwini Vaishnaw (BJP), Mansukh Mandaviya (BJP), Giriraj Singh (BJP), Hardeep Singh Puri (BJP), Manohar Lal Khattar (BJP), Arjun Ram Meghwal (BJP), Kamaljeet Sehrawat (BJP), Raksha Khadse (BJP), George Kurian (BJP), Ravneet Singh Bittu (BJP), G Kishan Reddy (BJP), Bandi Sanjay Kumar (BJP), CR Patil (BJP), HD Kumaraswamy (JD-S), Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal), Lallan Singh (JD-U), Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM), Ramdas Athawale (Republican party of India), Prataprao Jadhav (Shinde led Shiv Sena) among others.
According to reports, interacting with the NDA leaders who are expected to be sworn-in as ministers in the Modi 3.0 government, PM-designate Narendra Modi advised them to focus on government and ensure projects are finished on time.
BJP MPs Jitin Prasada from Uttar Pradesh and Raksha Khadse from Maharashtra are also tipped to be part of the new government. Khadse confirmed to the media that she has received a call to be part of the government.
A source said Sitharaman, the outgoing finance minister, Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju, both outgoing ministers as well, will also be taking oath.
There is also speculation within the BJP that its national president J P Nadda, whose extended tenure will end by this month end and who was among the leaders meeting Modi, may also be brought back in the government.
He was a member of the first Modi government before being relieved and taking over the charge of the party's organisation in 2019.
Allies like TDP's Ram Mohan Naidu and Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani and JD(U)'s Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur besides Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, H D Kumaraswamy and Jayant Chaudhary are being considered as ministers.
Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, had lost the Lok Sabha election but may be inducted due to his profile as the BJP continues its bid to deepen its footprint in Punjab.
Bandi Sanjay Kumar and G Kishan Reddy, both elected from Telangana, were seen leaving together for Modi's residence and sources close to them said they may be inducted as ministers. However, there has been no official comment on likely ministers.
While taking its ministerial picks, the BJP will have to factor in its shock losses in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to recover its ground.
With inputs from PTI
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