BJP sources said southern states need to play a crucial role in the party's plan to secure 120 new seats and the Cabinet reshuffle is expected to be done keeping this consideration in mind
Two members from the JD-U — the NDA's new ally at the Centre — are likely to be inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Council of Ministers. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's confidant Ramchandra Singh and former state CM Karpoori Thakur's son Ramnath Thakur can be given a Cabinet and a Minister of State (MoS) rank, respectively, sources said.
Having both the coming state polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in mind, PM Modi may give a South-centric tweak to the next reshuffle.
The AIADMK could get two Cabinet and as many MoS portfolios once it joins the NDA. The AIADMK has 37 Lok Sabha and 13 Rajya Sabha MPs. M Thambidurai, who has been instrumental in bringing the two warring factions together, is being seen as a front-runner for a plum Cabinet post.
Sources said a process to zero in on names has begun and PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah are expected to meet in a few days to take a final call.
A Cabinet reshuffle is also a necessity as many ministers such as Arun Jaitley, Smriti Irani, Narendra Singh Tomar, Ananth Kumar and Ravi Shankar Prasad are holding two or more portfolios. Some ministers could be drafted for party work, sources said.
Having both the coming state polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in mind, PM Modi may give a South-centric tweak to the next reshuffle.
The AIADMK could get two Cabinet and as many MoS portfolios once it joins the NDA. The AIADMK has 37 Lok Sabha and 13 Rajya Sabha MPs. M Thambidurai, who has been instrumental in bringing the two warring factions of the AIADMK together, is being seen as a front-runner for a plum Cabinet post.
BJP sources said southern states need to play a crucial role in the party's plan to secure 120 new seats and the Cabinet reshuffle is expected to be done keeping this consideration in mind.
The BJP wants to increase its footprint in the southern states where victory has eluded it with Karnataka's exception. The BJP is exploring the possibility of getting a foothold in Tamil Nadu and boost its chances in the Lok Sabha elections with the likely merger of the AIADMK factions and their becoming part of the NDA. BJP sources said a foothold in the South would allow the BJP to play up Tamil sub-nationalism by embracing symbols like popular Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar.
In Andhra Pradesh, where the BJP had only 4.13% vote share in the Assembly elections and won just two Lok Sabha seats, the party wants to increase its presence but not at the cost of its bigger partner and Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
The possible names which are doing the rounds in BJP circles include Shobha Karandlaje, a sitting MP from Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency in Karnataka and a staunch loyalist of state BJP President BS Yeddyurappa, and Belgaum MP Suresh Angadi who is considered a heavyweight in the dominant Lingayat community of Karnataka.
While Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is already facing anti-incumbency in Karnataka, the BJP wants to make a comeback in the Assembly elections that are due next year and improve its tally of 17 Lok Sabha seats from the state in 2019.
From Andhra Pradesh, film actor NT Rama Rao Jr, who happens to be the grandson of cult figure NT Rama Rao (NTR), is being considered as a favourite to get a ministerial berth from the TDP.
To balance it out, the BJP may also accommodate NTR's daughter D Purundeshwari who is the elder sister of Naidu's wife Bhuvaneswari but has politically estranged relations with the TDP chief. A minister in Dr Manmohan Singh's Cabinet, Purandeswari had joined the BJP just before the general elections in 2014 and currently heads the BJP's Mahila Morcha.
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