CHENNAI: AIADMK leaders are hoping to get at least two ministerial berths for the party in the Union Cabinet to be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, AIADMK sources said they were yet to get a word from the BJP on the portfolios.
The air will be cleared around noon on Thursday when both Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam reach New Delhi to take part in the swearing-in ceremony. BJP sources said AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP R Vaithilingam and P Ravindranath Kumar, son of Panneerselvam and the lone winner in the Lok Sabha polls, are likely to be given berths. The AIADMK has 13 members in Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, Minister for Information Kadambur Raju expressed confidence that AIADMK will get ministerial berths since the BJP had already promised that coalition partners too will be accommodated in the cabinet.
“The BJP today does not need numbers. They have an absolute majority. We are, however, part of the (NDA) alliance. On that basis we will work to secure the rights of the people through the Centre,” he said.
The Chief Minister, after attending the swearing-in ceremony, will stay in Delhi on Thursday night and is scheduled to take a Chennai flight early Friday morning.