BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior leaders Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley during a meeting with PM candidate and Gujarat chi
Saffron icon Narendra Modi is all set to take total control of the government and the NDA if the BJP comes to power at the Centre. Mr Modi is likely to replace party patriarch L.K. Advani as NDA chairman. At this juncture, while Mr Advani is working chairman, former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who has been bedridden for years, formally remains NDA chairman.
Mr Advani is expected to be removed as NDA working chairman as Mr Modi is strongly opposed to having two power centres in the government, sources said. As Prime Minister he will also be Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha.
A key strategy session in Gandhinagar on Wednesday indicated the arrival of the BJP’s new “core team”. The Gandhinagar meeting with Mr Modi was held with Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari. Along with Mr Modi’s chief aide Amit Shah, these leaders now informally constitute the party’s core group, its main decisionmakers.
“There was too much to discuss... it wasn’t possible to talk about it all on the phone,” Mr Singh told the media in Gandhinagar.
The crucial meeting in Gandhinagar also discussed the role of Mr Advani and Sushma Swaraj, among others, in a Modi-led government.
While Mr Advani has kept a stoic silence, there were rumours that he could be offered the post of Lok Sabha Speaker or head of a setup akin to the UPA’s National Advisory Council. The term of the NAC expires in June.
The meeting also debated the issue of the party president in the event of Rajnath Singh joining the Modi Cabinet.
In case both Mr Rajnath Singh and former party chief Nitin Gadkari join the Union Cabinet, consultations will be held with the RSS on who would be the new BJP president.
On Sushma Swaraj, speculation is rife that she will be given one of the top Cabinet portfolios, that include home, defence, external affairs and finance. The chances of her getting either home or defence are high.
A final decision on government formation and induction of ministers will be taken only after a thorough review with the RSS. The RSS top brass will be meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, and it will be in constant touch with the top leadership of the BJP. The BJP parliamentary board is also due to meet on May 16, the day the Lok Sabha results will be announced.
Both the Biju Janata Dal and AIADMK kept all options open on extending support to the NDA government if it falls short of a simple majority. The BJP has made it clear it would “welcome” support from any quarter.
Orissa chief minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik said: “No decision has been taken at the moment, and we will see in future.” Similarly the AIADMK supremo refused
to make any commitment.
Asked if he perceived the NDA as the “best alternative”, Mr Patnaik said: “I don’t know about that. But I want to state clearly no thought has been given and no decision has been taken about any alliance.” He reiterated the BJD’s policy has been to “keep equidistance from both the BJP and the Congress”.
While the BJD supremo refused to reveal his cards, the party’s chief whip, Pravat Tripathy, virtually spilled the beans, saying: “Keeping in view the opinion of the whole country and the state’s interest, there should be no problem in providing conditional support to the NDA to form a government at the Centre.”