Modi may have to call one more meeting - to resign as chief minister and appoint some other minister as the acting CM - if the decks are cleared for his swearing-in as PM.
Later in the day, the chief minister also held discussions with BJP's national president Rajnath Singh; the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley; and former party president Nitin Gadkari at his official residence in Gandhinagar.
During the cabinet meeting, there was no discussion on government matters. The one-and-a-half-hour-long event turned into a get-together with ministers spending most of the time heaping praises on Modi. The chief minister also appreciated Gujarat BJP's efforts in the Lok Sabha elections and asked to it work strongly as a team even in his absence.
Later, Modi spent nearly four hours in a meeting with Singh, Jaitley and Gadkari who had arrived specifically to hold discussions with him. There is, however, no word on what was discussed at the meeting of the BJP leaders.
Earlier, in Ahmedabad, before the meeting in Gandhinagar, Rajnath Singh had said that the NDA was absolutely confident of achieving a clear majority in the general elections.
"But till the results are out, I can't and won't say anything further. There is no doubt that Narendra Modi is our [BJP's] PM candidate. I have been talking to him on phone. I made the suggestion that as everything can't be discussed over phone, we need to sit together and discuss all issues in detail," Singh said.
On the ongoing speculation over the roles that may be assigned to veteran BJP leaders like L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi if the next government is formed with Modi as Prime Minister, Singh said that all these issues will become clear at the proper time. "The party will present a united face when it comes to announcing the decisions taken,'' the BJP president said.
Sources in the party said that Modi and the visiting BJP leaders had discussed the party's expected performance in each state and also the probable names from the BJP and its NDA allies, for inclusion in the national cabinet. Modi also separately discussed the post-poll results and parties whose support could be sought as allies if required, the sources said.
When asked about Modi's successor in Gujarat, Singh had said that the successor will be chosen through consensus. "The next CM will be everyone's choice. Just wait till May 16,'' Singh said.
Modi is likely to visit Varanasi and Delhi on May 17 if the BJP gets the expected number of seats in Lok Sabha.
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