A few hours before the swearing-in ceremony, which is slated for 7.15 p.m. at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Narendra Modi is likely to give over the list of Ministers in his council. Modi is due to take the oath of office as the leader of the NDA government for the third straight term on Sunday.
The important positions of Home, Finance, Defense, and External Affairs—all of which are a part of the Cabinet Committee on Security—are expected to remain with the BJP, according to sources. The BJP is also likely to retain control of the ministries of culture and education, which are influenced by the party’s ideological demands.
32 seats short of a majority, the BJP will require the backing of its partners, particularly the Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal (United). To be sure to make room for them in the Council of Ministers, senior BJP figures like Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, as well as party national president J P Nadda, have conferred with Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP, Nitish Kumar of the JD-U, and Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena.