Nitish Kumar’s JDU Expected To Get 2 Ministries, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP 4 In NDA 3.0; Key Updates

New Delhi: In a major update on the NDA government formation, Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is poised to secure four ministerial positions in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) (JDU) is expected to be allotted two cabinet berths.

The report suggests that among the potential TDP appointees to the cabinet are Ram Mohan Naidu, Harish Balayogi, and Daggumalla Prasad. Additionally, the JDU has recommended Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur, both seasoned leaders, for ministerial roles. Lalan Singh, representing Bihar’s Munger constituency, is a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, while Ram Nath Thakur serves in the Rajya Sabha and is the son of the late Karpoori Thakur, a Bharat Ratna awardee, as per a report by NDTV.

Narendra Modi Set To Take Aath As PM For 3rd Term On Sunday

Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is set to take oath on Sunday for a third straight term, equalling the feat of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, amid hectic parleys involving BJP leadership and allies over the share of berths of different constituents of the National Democratic Alliance in the new government.

Senior BJP leaders such as Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh and party president J P Nadda have been consulting the allies, including Telugu Desam Party’s N Chandrababu Naidu, JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, to finalise their share of representation in the government.

There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs, besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five and eight cabinet berths.

While leaders like Shah and Singh are seen within the party as a certainty in the new Cabinet, former chief ministers who have won the Lok Sabha polls, like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Basavaraj Bommai, Manohar Lal Khattar and Sarbananda Sonowal, are strong contenders for joining the government.

Ram Mohan Naidu of the TDP, Lalan Singh, Sanjay Jha and Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), and Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) are among the allies who may be a part of the new government, the sources said, adding that either Singh or Jha will be accommodated from the JD(U) quota.

Maharashtra, where the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance has fared poorly, and Bihar, where the opposition has shown signs of revival, may be in the focus during the government-formation exercise.

(With inputs from agencies)