Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday met BJP national president Nitin Nabin in New Delhi and held a meeting for over one-and-a-half hours ahead of the distribution of portfolios among 35 ministers, including 13 cabinet ministers.
“Although the meeting was highly confidential, it was possibly held to discuss and finalise the portfolios of the ministers who took the oath on June 1. We expect the announcement to be made very shortly,” a BJP source said.
While the source did not mention the exact date on which the portfolios would be announced, he said: “It may be tomorrow or within the next one or two days.”
Although BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya did not take part in the meeting, he was in Delhi during the chief minister’s visit.
Sources said Bengal BJP minder Sunil Bansal was present at the Suvendu-Nabin talks.
On June 1, 35 ministers, including 13 cabinet ministers, three ministers of state with Independent charge and 19 ministers of state, took the oath at Lok Bhavan. The BJP had prepared a ministerial list ensuring representation from different sectors and regions of Bengal.
The council of ministers includes party veterans, newcomers, a journalist and, more interestingly, representatives from underprivileged sections, such as Kalita Maji, who comes from a very humble background.
The 13 cabinet ministers awaiting their portfolios are Swapan Dasgupta, Arjun Singh, Manoj Oraon, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, Tapash Roy, Dipak Burman, Shankar Ghosh, Kalyan Chakraborty, Arup Kumar Das, Ajay Kumar Poddar, Saradwat Mukhopadhyay, Dudh Kumar Mondal and Gouri Shankar Ghosh.
Five cabinet ministers — Agnimitra Paul, Dilip Ghosh, Ashok Kirtaniya, Nisith Pramanik and Ksudhiram Tudu — had taken oath, along with chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, on the Brigade Parade Ground on May 9 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These five were allocated portfolios.
Since then, the BJP has been engaged in permutations and combinations regarding the remaining ministers.
Many within the party have said that the process has already been delayed, considering that the BJP swept the Assembly elections with 208 seats a month ago.
Initially, it was decided that the portfolios would be distributed as soon as all ministers took the oath at Lok Bhavan. However, the process was postponed.
A minister reportedly told his close associates that the distribution of portfolios would be announced on Friday. However, after attending a World Environment Day programme, Suvendu immediately flew to Delhi to hold the meeting.
Many BJP leaders believe that the delay in announcing the full cabinet and subsequently allocating portfolios has caused embarrassment for the party, as ministers need to take charge of their departments and prepare their plans before the budget session begins on June 18.
However, a senior BJP leader has claimed that the party has been carefully reviewing its Bengal strategy while allocating portfolios, as the Narendra Modi government has placed special focus on the state after the BJP’s emphatic victory in Bengal.
“The portfolios will be distributed after careful consideration of both the departments and the ministers who will be responsible for them. As Bengal witnessed serious allegations of corruption, high-handedness and diversion of funds during the 15-year Trinamool Congress regime, the ministers concerned will have to play a very important role to restore governance. Therefore, a multi-layer review has been conducted before assigning the portfolios. Opinions of various experts have also been taken into account,” the senior leader said.