TNN, New Delhi :Prime minister-elect Narendra Modi is taking his time to pick his ministers. But not everyone is willing to wait. So, the Modi’s Cabinet is being named, portfolios allotted and then changed, almost by the hour, by the impatient janata in the Capital.The 10-day wait for the swearing in of the new PM, and possibly his ministers, has spawned a whole new speculation industry. Since Modi, an outsider to Delhi’s power circles, successfully ran his campaign almost entirely from Gujarat, many in the Capital have been left guessing who all could be his agents of change. Investors to homemakers are waiting with bated breath to know who would be Modi’s finance minister. The absence of any “leaks” about who the ministers would be has added to the suspense.From TV studios to specialized websites and newspapers, Cabinets are being “formed” and “dismissed” at break-neck speed. The “ministerial musical chair” is the new entertainment in town in the absence of movie releases. The “Kaun Banega Mantri” game is being played out in gyms, bars, drawing rooms and board rooms and, of course, government offices. If you haven’t prepared a “Cabinet”, you now run the risk of being left out of discussions over who would be the next finance minister or the home minister.And, it is not just the names but even portfolios are changing by the second. So, if Arun Jaitley was the front runner to head the finance ministry for two days, he is ‘tipped’ to be the external affairs minister the third day. Similarly, Arun Shourie has been talked about as the man likely to head finance, home and defence ministries. BJP president Rajnath Singh too has seen his portfolio change rapidly, depending on whom you have spoken to and how “close” your source is to the team readying the Cabinet. Even websites such as “whispersinthe corridor.com, “powerbuzz” are quoted to add weight to the “lists”.”Whispersinthecorridor. com” has even put up a list of officials who could be in the Modi PMO. According to this list, Amit Shah would be minister of state in the PMO while the officers include Vijay Nehra as PS to PM, Ajit Doval as national security advisor, Hasmukh Adhia, additional secretary, AK Sharma, joint secretary, K Srinivas, joint secretary, Hiren Joshi, OSD to PM in the rank of joint secretary, Ashok, an IAS officer from the Kerala cadre as director and Bharat Lal as officer on special duty to the PM.The Powerbuzz website says Bharat Lal could be the PM’s private secretary while Goa chief minister might be the new home minister. A “Whatsapp” message doing the rounds has BJP leader Subramanian Swamy as the front runner for the finance minister’s post.
