NEW DELHI: The passing away of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) founder Ram Vilas Paswan has turned the NDA government at the Centre into a BJP dispensation with Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale being the sole minister from among the allies.
The much-anticipated expansion of the Union Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi may weigh in the option to induct a few members from other parties after the Bihar Assembly elections to gain the semblance of an alliance government.
Paswan and Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were the only Cabinet ministers from among the NDA allies before the latter resigned last month in protest against the new farm laws. Earlier, Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena had quit the Cabinet as a consequence of the Maharashtra government formation, with the Udhav Thackeray- led party exiting the NDA.
The JD-U had not joined the Modi Cabinet, apparently in protest over only one berth being offered after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. While the BJP had bagged 303 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, obtaining complete majority on its own, Prime Minister had nevertheless taken the allies on board. Among 25 Cabinet Ministers and 33 Ministers of State sworn-in, three Cabinet and one MoS berths were accounted for by the BJP’s allies. The Shiv Sena with 18 and JD-U with 16 Lok Sabha seats were the two biggest alliance partners.
While it was anticipated that the announcement of ‘Team J P Nadda’ in the BJP will coincide with the expansion of the council of ministers, the PM has kept observers speculating over his next move. The model code of conduct in Bihar bars induction of any member from the state, said a senior BJP leader.
With the LJP contesting the Bihar polls on its own, fuelling a buzz of BJP’s covert moves against incumbent chief minister Nitish Kumar, it’s likely that the outcome of the poll could decide the next course of action at the Centre. With a significant number of rebel BJP leaders flocking to the LJP, besides a few from the ranks of the JD-U, political observers believe the outcome of the Bihar polls could prove to be a big factor in the Cabinet expansion.
Cabinet expansion
The expansion of the Union Council of Ministers by Modi may weigh in the option to induct a few members from other parties after the Bihar Assembly elections to gain the semblance of an alliance government