As Narendra Modi is set to take oath as Prime Minister for the second consecutive term on Thursdsay evening, the speculations surrounding the possible ministers in his cabinet is growing with several of Modi's previous cabinet colleagues set to return as ministers of Modi 2.0 team.
MPs selected for ministerial berths will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 4.30 pm on Thursday, shortly before the swearing-in ceremony.
Earlier in the morning, the prime minister held a final round of consultations with BJP president Amit Shah to give shape to his council of ministers before sending the list to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar, news agency PTI reported on Thursday.
The others tipped to get a ministerial berth include Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Jayant Sinha, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Thawarchand Gehlot, Dilip Ghosh, Jitendra Singh and Purshottam Rupala, it said.
Among some of the new faces that are likely to be inducted include Prahlad Patel from Madhya Pradesh, Kailash Chowdhry from Rajasthan, Krishna Reddy from Telangana and Suresh Angedi from Karnataka and Raosaheb Danve from Maharashtra.
Nitin Gadkari, DV Sadananda Gowda, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Giriraj Singh, Babul Supriyo and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal will also be sworn-in as ministers, news agency ANI reported.
Assam MP Rameswar Teli and Arunachal Pradesh MP Kiren Rijiju will also join Modi's new cabinet, a BJP leader said on Thursday, adding that Meghalaya's Agatha Sangma is also likely to be accommodated, reported IANS.
Teli was elected to the Lok Sabha from Dibrugarh in Assam while Rijiju was elected from Arunachal West. Sangma represents the Tura constituency in Meghalaya.
Before taking the oath of office, the prospective ministers will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg over tea at 4:30 pm, sources said.
Speaking to ANI, Gowda said, "I received a call from Amit Shah. He said that I should be at the home of the Prime Minister at 5 pm and the swearing-in ceremony at 7 pm."
"At 5 pm, the prime minister will have tea with his Cabinet other ministerial colleagues. Then we will go to Rashtrapati Bhavan to take oath," he added.
Goa's Shripad Naik will also be inducted in Modi cabinet, according to IANS.
The Shiv Sena has confirmed its leader Arvind Sawant, who defeated Congress heavyweight Milind Deora from Mumbai, will be its nominee in the council of ministers.
The Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel is likely to be in the council of ministers.
Prime Minister Modi, along with his council of ministers, will take oath as the 15th the Prime Minister of India at 7 pm in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy at the function.
President of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid, President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena, President of Myanmar U Win Myint, Prime Minister of Bhutan Lotay Tshering, Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli, and Thailand's Special Envoy Grisada Boonrach will be present in the national capital for attending Modi's swearing-in ceremony. The President of Kyrgyzstan, Sooronbay Jeenbekov will also be present at the event.
Several overseas friends of BJP from 15 countries, including the US, Australia, Germany, and the UK, have also been invited.
(Agencies)
