No Jaitley as PM takes oath today

A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes oath for a second term in office, outgoing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley opted out of the new Cabinet citing ill health, while uncertainty hung over the continuance of another key minister Sushma Swaraj who did not contest Lok Sabha elections this time.

If Jaitley is out of the Finance Ministry, there could be a reshuffle in the top four ministries including Defence, Home and External Affairs.

Modi and BJP president Amit Shah went into a huddle for the second consecutive day to thrash out the modalities of the Cabinet formation. The Prime Minister also drove to Jaitley’s residence to explore the possibility of his continuance in the Council of Ministers.

Modi also had separate confabulations with Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, while Principal Secretary to PM Nripendra Mishra met Shah.

Shah also met some other Union ministers at his residence like Narendra Singh Tomar and Arjun Ram Meghwal in the evening.

Over 6,500 guests, including a large contingent of foreign delegates and Opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, will attend the ceremony to be held on the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday evening.

More than 50 ministers are expected to take the oath during the 90-minute ceremony.

There was a buzz about Shah being considered for the Finance Ministry as Jaitley is out, but the upcoming elections to three crucial states — Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year and Delhi early next year — could make it difficult for the party to move Shah out from the organisation.

The possibility of Shah continuing as party chief till the completion of Assembly elections to these states cannot be ruled out.

Earlier, Jaitley asked the Prime Minister not to include him in the new ministry since he is battling “some serious health challenges” and sought “reasonable time for myself, my treatment and my health”.