New Delhi:
The BJP is carefully planning its ministries in the four states it won last week to prepare for the 2024 national elections, sources say.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top BJP leaders have held several meetings to finalize ministers in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur – states where it won emphatic victories in recent elections.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who won a record-breaking reelection, was part of this consultation. He can be sworn in on March 21, sources say.
The BJP leadership has asked for data on all winning candidates in order to identify ministers.
Sources say the ministers will be chosen with a number of factors in mind – caste and regional calculations, good representation of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and OBCs (Other Backward Class), and emphasis on youth, women and educational qualifications.
“The youth are of particular importance to ensure the leadership of the BJP and the country in the next 25 years,” Prime Minister Modi has reportedly advised his party members.
BJP MPs have also been ordered to designate 100 polling booths in their parliamentary constituencies where the party was not doing well in the polls. They also need to identify the reasons and find solutions.
Yogi Adityanath may get 20 new ministers in Uttar Pradesh. Eleven ministers – including Deputy Prime Minister Keshav Maurya – lost the elections and four switched parties. That makes 15 vacancies.
A few ministers are likely to be fired for poor performance, sources say.
Sources say the new ministers are identified with a focus on the Jatav community, which is believed to have shifted its allegiance from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj party (BSP) to the BJP. Swatandra Dev Singh is the frontrunner to replace Keshav Maurya as Deputy Chief Minister.
Babyrani Maurya, who stepped down as governor of Uttarakhand to participate in the elections, may get a major post.
Former bureaucrats such as SK Sharma, Asim Arun and Rajeshwar Singh are likely to become ministers.
Some of the new ministers may come from western Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP performed unexpectedly well.