50 ministers to take oath with PM; Harsimrat Kaur, Arvind Sawant likely to get portfolios

BJP’s Santosh Gangwar, the Minister of State with independent charge in the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the previous term, is likely to be made the pro tem speaker.

(COURTESY: SAM PANTHAKY / AFP)

New Delhi: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes oath of office for second term after leading the National Democratic Alliance to a sweeping victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, as many as 50 ministers will also take oath along with him, sources have revealed. As per the latest update received, ministers selected for oath of office will meet PM Modi at 4.30 pm today at his residence. Sources have also stated that except for 4-6 big faces from previous term, almost all of the previous portfolio holders will take oath again this time. Here is the latest list of leaders who are likely to take oath today:

• R S Prasad
• Piyush Goyal
• Babul Supriyo
• Jitendra Singh
• Prahlad Patel
• Prahlad Joshi
• Smriti Irani
• Sadanand Gowda
• Arjun Meghwal
• Kishan Reddy
• Ramchandra Prasad Singh
• Mansukh L. Mandaviya
• Krishnapal Gurjar
• Parshottam Rupala
• Ramdas Athawale
• Sanjeev Balyan
• Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
• Sadhvi Jyoti Niranjan
• Thawar Chand Gehlot
• Rao Inderjit
• Giriraj Singh
• Kailash Choudhary
• Rajnath Singh
• Nityanand Rai
• K P Ravindran
• Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank"

On the eve of the oath-taking event, Modi on Wednesday held a marathon meeting with BJP president Amit Shah as he gave final touches to the shape of his government, which is likely to have representation from most allies and showcase the party's newfound strength in different regions. They also held a final meet today morning. Ever since election results are out there have been intense speculation on who will get the top four berths in the cabinet- Finance, Home, Defence, and External Affairs. There is a strong buzz about Amit Shah, who has been elected to Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar and is a key architect of his party's landslide win, getting a key portfolio.  If Shah joins the Modi cabinet, he is likely to get one of the four major portfolios; finance, home, defence or external affairs. In case, Shah joins the government, then J P Nadda and Bhupender Yadav are seen as top choices for heading the party. BJP ally Shiv Sena’s leader Arvind Sawant, who has been elected MP from Mumbai South, will be sworn in as Union minister on Thursday, news agency PTI reported citing a senior party leader. He will replace Anant Geete, the lone Sena minister in the previous Narendra Modi-led government, who lost from the Raigad Lok Sabha seat in last month's election, the leader said Wednesday. Also, from Akali Dal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal is likely to get a portfolio, sources said. BJP’s Santosh  Gangwar, the current Minister of State with independent charge in the Ministry of Labour and Employment , is likely to be made the pro tem speaker. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's decision to opt out on health grounds has fuelled speculation about who will get the coveted portfolio with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who filled in for Jaitley and presented the populist pre-election budget, being seen as a key contender. Though External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj did not contest the Lok Sabha elections on health grounds, there is a view within the party that she will also be a part of the new cabinet. There are also speculations that Modi may surprise with a few choices, referring to his decision to induct a number of former bureaucrats-turned-BJP leaders like R K Singh and Hardeep Puri in his ministry during his first term. Some party leaders believe that the prime minister may also induct leaders like Manoj Sinha, who lost the Lok Sabha polls but is seen as one of the "performing" ministers of his first government. The BJP has refrained from making any official comment about the likely members of the government, with its leaders insisting that it is the prime minister's prerogative. Senior party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani, who defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, are likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar. BJP allies like Shiv Sena, JD(U), AIADMK, LJP, Akali Dal and Apna Dal are also set to be represented in the government. Parties like Sena and JD(U) may get two berths as they are the largest constituents of the ruling National Democratic Alliance after the BJP, while others may get one berth each. (with additional inputs from agencies)