Narendra Modi to have small cabinet; meetings on

NEW DELHI: Amidst hectic discussions on formation of the new government, indications emerged today that Narendra Modi would have a "small and compact" Cabinet that will take oath along with him on May 26 in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Some senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Shourie, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Ananth Kumar are expected to find a place in the Cabinet, sources said here.

Leaders of NDA allies, like TDP, Akali Dal and LJP, are also likely to be included in the Council of Ministers.

Modi, without revealing who will get what, has told his confidantes that he would like to see a "small and compact" Cabinet, the sources said.

An expansion of the Cabinet, if necessary, will be undertaken after a few months, they added.

Modi is expected to restructure the government, which will include merger of some ministries, to "remove anomalies" for the effective delivery of governance. These include some key Finance and Commerce departments besides some others including those relating to education.

To give final touches to the Cabinet and portfolios, Modi today held a series of meetings with party leaders, including M Venkaiah Naidu, Amit Shah, Ananth Kumar, Uma Bharti and J P Nadda, whose name is doing the rounds for taking over as party chief in case Rajnath Singh joins the Cabinet.

Chief of NDA ally Republican Party of India (RPI) Ramdas Athawale also met Modi amid his hope of getting a Cabinet berth.

There was a steady stream of visitors at Rajnath Singh's Ashoka Road residence also.