NEW DELHI — The top Bharatiya Janata Party leadership, confident of coming to power, went into a huddle on Wednesday to chart out the party's next steps after the counting of votes on Friday. BJP's prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Rajnath Singh and senior leaders Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari met in Gandhinagar on Wednesday evening to discuss the party's post-poll strategy. Sources say that if the NDA gets a clear majority, the Modi government is likely be sworn in by May 20. The party is also holding consultations on the ministries to be allotted to its leaders. Sources say the party is considering Arun Jaitley for the Finance Ministry. Sources also add that Sushma Swaraj is being considered for the Defense Ministry or the Ministry of External Affairs. Former Army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh is likely to be given a Minister of State post in the Defense Ministry. BJP President Rajnath Singh is eyeing the Home Ministry while Nitin Gadkari is likely to be given the Railways Ministry or the Infrastructure Ministry, say sources. Sources say BJP allies like LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan will also be inducted and could be given Health or Agriculture. A possible role for the senior-most leader LK Advani could also come up for discussion. Sources say Advani could be offered the role of the NDA chairperson. The top RSS leaders are already in Delhi to oversee the distribution of portfolios in a Modi-led government.
