With reports of cabinet expansion, BJP leaders hopeful of getting ranks in Modi govt

NEW DELHI: Some of the BJP hopefuls who were left out in the cabinet formation on May 26 may see a turnaround in their fortunes with the Narendra Modi government reportedly mulling over an expansion of the Council of Ministers in the interim between the Presidential Address and the presentation of the General Budget.

The most keenly awaited announcement is about who would get the Defence portfolio. Arun Jaitley has been given additional charge of the ministry but has made it clear that he is only keeping the seat warm for another incumbent. However, BJP ministers say Modi is keeping the cards close to his chest and it is difficult to guess who would get the post. Speculations that the post may go to a technocrat are now dying down but not ruled out completely.

The fact that not just Jaitley but some other Cabinet ministers have been given heavy portfolios have lend credence to reports that an expansion of the council of ministers is imminent and may happen in the third week of June. Eyebrows were raised when some prominent faces - including Rajiv Pratap Rudy, SS Ahluwalia, Arun Shourie, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Murli Manohar Joshi - did not figure in the list of those who took oath of office and secrecy in Rashtrapati Bhawan last week.

While it is not clear whether all of them will be accommodated in the council of ministers or in some other organ of the government, reports that the party may reward those who have contributed in the past has given hope to several MPs. The decision not to include Rudy, who was Civil Aviation Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee dispensation, in Modi’s team came as a surprise to many.

Sources said the reason for this could be that Radha Mohan Singh, a fellow Rajput leader who was earlier with the RSS, was preferred over him from the Bihar quota. However, he may be accommodated in the expansion. There could be hope for Ahluwalia, a former Deputy Leader of the BJP in Rajya Sabha who has been elected from Darjeeling.

For perhaps the first time, there is no representative from West Bengal in the council of ministers at the Centre. Not only did BJP increase its vote share in the state, it also won two seats from there.