Modi 3.0 Cabinet: JD(U) To Get Two Portfolio In Coalition Government, BJP Not Letting Go Of Railways. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) is keen for ministerial berths in the new NDA coalition government. Still, word is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not part with the Railways portfolio. After being pushed away in 2019, the JD(U), the second biggest BJP ally, is adamant about getting the recognition and respect it rightly deserves.
A senior JD(U) leader said the party was eyeing three cabinet positions. Shrawan Kumar, JD(U) leader who is also Bihar’s Rural Development Minister, said PM Narendra Modi and their party chief will decide on the matter of the cabinet positions. He added that it should be ‘respectable’.
Moreover, Kumar said the matter of representation in the Union Government should be based on the 2025 Bihar assembly polls. He highlighted that in 2019, their party chief Nitish Kumar had turned down the token representation of only one portfolio.
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JD(U) Wants Cabinet Portfolios, Including Railways
This time around, Janata Dal (United) expects to bag the railways, rural development, water resources, heavy industries, and agriculture seamlessly. The party has also demanded review of the Agnipath scheme. However, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said there was no pre-condition from their side. He said they have given NDA unconditional support. But he added that Bihar needs a special status. Tyagi explained that after division from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar needs special status.
But a report says that the JD(U) has only sought two cabinet berths, while Andhra Pradesh’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) wants four cabinet positions, and the parliamentary speaker seat. Another report stated that both parties are likely to get the same number of seats.
NDA Coalition Government to Feature Fresh Faces
Meanwhile, sources say that the new coalition government will feature new BJP faces, and those who failed to perform in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will be axed, with the likes of Arjun Munda, Smriti Irani, and RK Singh.
A source said the BJP aims to power the coalition government with new faces and dynamism in the key ministerial portfolios. The Bharatiya Janata Party wants to ensure governance and delivery of its election promises. As such, the coalition government is expected to balance regional representation, administrative competence, and caste dynamics.
