Naidu-Nitish’s long list, Manjhi also made a demand… Who can get which ministry in Modi 3.0?

For the third time, the NDA government is going to be formed in the country under the leadership of Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi will take oath as the Prime Minister on June 9 at 6:00 pm. Since BJP could not go beyond 240 this time and remained away from the majority. Therefore, the new government will have to depend on NDA allies Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. Meanwhile, there is talk of allies putting pressure on BJP regarding ministerial posts in the new government. Some are demanding the post of Speaker of Lok Sabha, while many are staking claim on the Ministry of Railways and Agriculture. The question is how many ministries will BJP get in the NDA government? How many ministers will Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar demand? Which party will get which department?

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP remained away from the majority. It has got only 240 seats. Whereas NDA has 293 seats. Chandrababu Naidu’s party TDP has won 16 seats and Nitish Kumar’s JDU has won 12 seats. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena has won 7 parliamentary seats. While Chirag Paswan’s LJP Ram Vilas also has 5 MPs. If we combine these four parties, then there are a total of 40 MPs. Obviously, for BJP, which is far from the majority, the division of portfolios among allies will prove to be a big challenge. Especially when Naidu and Nitish are demanding big portfolios. Creating a consensus on the number of ministers will also be a big task.

If 1 minister is demanded for every 4 MPs, then in this sense TDP with 16 seats can demand 4 ministerial posts. On the same basis, JDU with 12 seats can demand 3 ministerial posts. In such a situation, Eknath Shinde with 7 MPs and Chirag Paswan with 5 MPs will also expect 2 ministries each.

TDP is demanding the post of Lok Sabha Speaker

It is being said that TDP also wants the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. However, there is very little possibility that BJP will agree to this. Chandrababu Naidu’s party can get the post of Deputy Speaker if more insistence is put. On the other hand, JDU already has the post of deputy chairman in Rajya Sabha. While Jitan Ram Manjhi has demanded a ministerial post.

NDA partners have been getting symbolic representation

If seen, in the two terms of Modi government, the allies have got only symbolic representation. That is, instead of giving ministerial posts in proportion to their numbers, they have been given symbolic representation. In 2019, Nitish Kumar’s party JDU had demanded a share according to the numbers. When this did not happen, it did not join the government.

If assessed according to the changed circumstances, then BJP will have to make ministers according to the numbers. This means that the number of BJP ministers in the Council of Ministers will decrease. The number of allies will increase.

Will BJP compromise?

Being away from the majority, there will be some compulsion in this BJP government. Maybe it will compromise on some conditions. It is believed that BJP would like to keep the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs with itself. Apart from this, BJP will not want to hand over the ministries of infrastructure, poor welfare, youth related departments and agriculture to allies.

This is because these are the ministries which will play an important role in implementing the schemes for the four castes mentioned by Prime Minister Modi – poor, women, youth and farmers. During the elections, the Prime Minister was often heard mentioning these four castes in his rallies.

BJP is not in the mood to give railways and road transport to anyone

It is believed that BJP will not want to give railways and road transport to other parties. Modi government has worked at a fast pace in these areas. And it will not want that the reforms get braked due to any new experiment. It has been seen that in whichever coalition government the railways has been with the allies, the work of the ministry has been affected due to populist policies.

There has been a race to acquire the railways in every government. The conversation between Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mamta Banerjee in the Lok Sabha will forever be remembered in the parliamentary history of India, which was about railways. BJP wants to keep these with itself.

Allies can get these ministries

If we look at the last two terms of the Modi government, the allies have been given ministries like civil aviation, heavy industries, food processing, steel and food, public distribution and consumer affairs. The Ministry of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs was with Ram Vilas Paswan in 2014. Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises were with Shiv Sena. Similarly, Food Processing was first with Akali Dal and later with LJP. While the Steel Ministry was given to JDU.

JDU can get Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Ministry

If we look at the results of the Lok Sabha elections, this time BJP may have to bow down to its allies to some extent. It is believed that ministries like Panchayati Raj and Rural Development can be given to JDU. Similarly, the responsibility of Civil Aviation and Steel Ministry can be given to TDP, while Heavy Industries can go to Shiv Sena.

TDP may demand Information Technology Ministry

It is believed that allies may be given the post of Minister of State in important ministries like Finance and Defence. Telugu Desam Party may demand MEITY i.e. Electronics and Information Technology Ministry. However, ministries like Tourism, Social Justice and Empowerment, Skill Development, Science Technology and Earth Sciences may also go to allies. There is no hope of any problem from BJP in this.