KOLKATA: The countdown for ministerial berths in the first-ever BJP cabinet in West Bengal intensified among the saffron party’s newly elected MLAs on Thursday, a day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to meet legislators at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre on Friday to oversee the final process of forming the new government.
Alongside the selection of a possible key contender for the post of Chief Minister (CM), names of several other MLAs for ministerial portfolios in the cabinet will also be decided at the meeting.
Suvendu Adhikari, the ‘giant killer’ who defeated former CM and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee in her home turf of Bhabanipur constituency, is still considered a key contender for the portfolio. Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya’s name is also being mentioned in the race for the CM’s post.
The BJP’s central leadership is also considering creating two posts of Deputy Chief Ministers, including one for a woman legislator.
According to BJP insiders, Dilip Ghosh, Rudranil Ghosh, Rupa Ganguly, Agnimitra Paul, Swapan Dasgupta, Tapas Roy, Dr Indranil Khan, Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee, Shankar Ghosh, Nishith Pramanik, Jagannath Chatterjee, retired IPS officer Rajesh Kumar, and several others may be given berths in the cabinet.
Priority will also be given to ensure that MLAs from North Bengal and forest and tribal belts in parts of South Bengal districts are included as ministers or ministers of state.
The new government will not have any ministers from the Muslim community, as the BJP did not field any Muslim candidates in the 294 assembly seats.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Nitin Nabin, the party’s national president, and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states.