by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Modi Begins Govt. Formation Exercise
Amit Shah disinclined to join the Govt.
Search for LS Speaker begins, Rajnath, Tomar considered
Modi visits ailing Jaitley, disinclined to become FM
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, May 24
After the historic mandate, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the process of government formation today. He tendered resignation to the President today after the customary Cabinet meeting who asked him to continue until the new government takes oath of office. Earlier in the day, he called on the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who has been advised rest and wished him on his marriage anniversary too. The PM was desirous of his continuation and a last word is yet to be written as everything depends on his health condition.
Another issue is the choice of new Speaker of the Lok Sabha after Sumitra Mahajan was denied the ticket.
Highly placed sources say that two names are doing the rounds for the coveted post- Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Rajnath Singh will be considered only in the event of BJP president Amit Shah becoming the Union Home Minister. But Amit Shah is disinclined to join the government until he completes two terms of three years each. Secondly, he also wants to win Delhi Assembly in 2020 and West Bengal in 2021. He has also told his confidantes that the party's footprint has to be expanded in areas where it has negligible presence. Modi has a tough task to find some hidden talent among the 303 Lok Sabha MP s. Once a decision on the Speaker is taken, rest of the positions like External Affairs, Defence, Finance and Home will fall in place.
There are also indications that some world leaders may be invited for the Swearing-in-Ceremony including Russian President Vladimir Putin. World leaders have already congratulated him. Other global leaders may also come, if Modi opts to make it a mega event like 2014.
Railways and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal will be new FM if Jaitley finally refuses to hold the post. Giant killers; Smriti Irani and Ravi Shankar Prasad are set for a promotion too. Senior BJP leader Santosh Gangwar will be the pro tem speaker and he will sworn along with the new members of Lok Sabha.
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