The buzz is that along with key Cabinet posts, LJP’s Chirag Pawan is also negotiating for one deputy chief minister and sources indicate that there is also considerable pressure on the BJP to select those who will man the post from its side. In the outgoing councils of ministers, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were BJP’s two deputies to JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar.
File Photo: IANS
The buzz is that along with key Cabinet posts, LJP’s Chirag Pawan is also negotiating for one deputy chief minister and sources indicate that there is also considerable pressure on the BJP to select those who will man the post from its side. In the outgoing councils of ministers, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were BJP’s two deputies to JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar.
Tough parleys are also going on regarding the number and nature of the ministry—cabinet portfolios, deputy chief minister posts, and allocations for allies like LJP, RLP and HAM. A point to consider also is—will the BJP let go of one position to accommodate LJP or will it create an additional post, taking the number of deputy CMs to three.
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Sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held a closed-door meeting with the senior leadership, including Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda and General Secretary BL Santosh, to discuss the issues related to government formation in Bihar.
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Some of the names that are doing the rounds for the post of deputy CM are Mangal Pandey. Ramkripal Yadav, Rajnish Kumar and Nitin Naveen, sources say, but in mind states like Rajasthan, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, it is never easy to make a prediction so far as the BJP is concerned. The leadership may very well opt for fresh faces.
According to a BJP leader in Delhi, meetings are being held to deliberate on the names of ministers as well as the Speaker, all of which will be announced before the swearing-in on November 20, right now it is anyone’s guess.
Since former Speaker Nand Kishore is out of the race, there is also speculation on who will take over the crucial post. A name doing the rounds is that of former Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha but both BJP and JD(U) want the position which is pivotal in determining the balance of power between coalition partners. As far as the Cabinet is concerned, the BJP is expected to get one more than the JD(U) since the CM will presumably be Nitish Kumar.
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