Modi 2.0: Shah meets Modi ahead of swearing-in

BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give final touches to the list of ministers to be sworn in.

This was Shah's third meeting in three days with Modi to finalise the list. The swearing in will be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7 PM on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Shah had held a meeting for about four hours with Modi.

While there is no word about who will be ministers, it is expected that Modi would go in for a Council of Ministers that have representation from various states, including from West Bengal and Odisha where the BJP has won impressively.

States like Kerala where BJP failed to open an account may also get representation this time.

Along with BJP Ministers, leaders from allies like JD(U), Shiv Sena, Akali Dal and Apna Dal are likely to be sworn in. From Shiv Sena, Arvind Sawant is likely to be sworn in while from JD(U), it could be Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's close aide Rajeev Ranjan Singh.

Many incumbent ministers are anxious to know about the composition of the Council of Ministers. Non-performers in Modi's first cabinet will face the axe for sure, sources said.

As the government faced trouble with farmers and Dalits, sources said Modi will be giving more focus on these areas.

While the government can induct a maximum of 81 ministers, Modi is unlikely to fill all the vacancies.

In 2014, he had sworn in first with just 45 ministers and later went on for expansion. This time too Modi is likely to go with this formula, leaving some berths for a reshuffle.