Goa, Manipur CMs meet PM as govt formation exercise in 4 states gathers pace

Goa and Manipur chief ministers Pramod Sawant and N Biren Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held deliberations with BJP president J P Nadda as the party continued with its exercise to firm up the outlines of new governments following its thumping win in the recent assembly polls.Adityanath is all but certain to occupy the top post in his state and there are indications that the BJP leadership is likely to put its faith again in Sawant and Singh to lead the new dispensation in their states.

Goa and Manipur chief ministers Pramod Sawant and N Biren Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held deliberations with BJP president J P Nadda as the party continued with its exercise to firm up the outlines of new governments following its thumping win in the recent assembly polls.

Adityanath is all but certain to occupy the top post in his state and there are indications that the BJP leadership is likely to put its faith again in Sawant and Singh to lead the new dispensation in their states. While there has been no announcement yet, the BJP legislative party in these states and also in Uttarakhand is likely to meet next week to elect its leader who will be sworn in as chief minister there.

The fate of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has come under question as he lost his seat even though the BJP romped home with over two-thirds majority. Party leaders have, however, not ruled him out of the race, noting that his role in the BJP's impressive show cannot be discounted. The BJP has undertaken an extensive exercise to pick ministers in these states, especially in Uttar Pradesh, politically India's most important state where the BJP has been dominant since 2014. A senior leader said they are taking into account a host of factors, from age, education, gender, region and caste, to ensure that the new government is seen as social representative and also reflective of the party's agenda of good governance. After meeting Singh, Modi tweeted that he congratulated him on the party's stupendous victory, asserting that it is committed to working even harder to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Manipur. ''Our party is grateful to the people of Goa for blessing us yet again with the mandate to serve the state. We will keep working for Goa's progress in the times to come,'' Modi said after meeting Sawant. Both Sawant and Biren Singh also met Union minister Amit Shah. Adityanath, who had met Modi and other top leaders on Sunday, was accompanied by senior leaders from the state, including party chief Swatantra Dev Singh, in his meeting with Nadda. Sources said the meeting is also aimed at taking stock of the party's performance in the recent polls. Top BJP leaders, including Modi, Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nadda, have held extensive parleys in the last few days, working out the broad outlines of the new governments in four states, including Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, ahead of the swearing-in ceremonies expected next week.

The BJP's big win, especially in states like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, has given the party a leeway in picking a council of ministers which carry its governance stamp, even a touch of experiment.

The party has announced Shah and Singh as its central observers for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand respectively for its legislative party meetings to elect its new leader in both the states. Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Singh Tomar have been named observers for Manipur and Goa respectively.

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