PATNA: The BJP central leadership has appointed senior leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as the central observer to supervise the meeting of party’s newly elected legislators in Bihar, to formally elect the leader of the BJP Legislature Party.
The meeting is scheduled for Sunday at 10 am. The meeting of 74 legislators is being held at the party office, and Singh is expected to arrive early morning in Patna. After this meeting, he will also be part of another gathering of NDA allies to decide the date of swearing in and other issues involved in government formation.
Party sources said that only after Singh’s meeting and collective consensus of legislators will there be clarity whether Kameshwar Chaupal will be the new Deputy Chief Minister or Sushil Kumar Modi will continue in the same capacity.
The BJP leaders are also likely to decide the names of ministers in the presence of Singh, who was one of the star campaigners of BJP in recently concluded Assembly elections. Bihar BJP in-charge Bhupendra Yadav will also attend the party meeting, the sources said.
Sources said that Sushil Kumar Modi, who met BJP president J P Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, returned to Patna early on Saturday morning. The official announcement naming Nitish Kumar as chief minister again will be taken at the NDA Legislature Party meeting. If sources are to be believed, the swearing-in of new government is likely at 11 am on Monday.