Meeting At PM's Residence Over UP, Other States' Government Formation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting regarding the formation of government in Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Manipur at his official residence on Sunday evening. Sources said the Prime Minister was briefed on the decisions taken by the party's top leadership in consultation with the state leaders. Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh and party chief JP Nadda were present at the meeting.  The party's central observers will be going to the states tomorrow, sources said.

After the party's huge victory in four of the five states where assembly polls were held recently, the party has had a balancing act managing the "internal expectations" of the state leaders, sources have indicated.

In states like Goa and Manipur, that has developed into factionalism, with multiple candidates emerging for the post of the Chief Minister.

Earlier in the day, the BJP announced that N Biren Singh will continue as the Chief Minister of Manipur for a second straight term. The announcement came a day after Mr Singh, along with the other contenders -- Biswajit Singh and Yumnam Khemchand -- met the top leadership of the party.

There is also suspense over the top post in Goa where a race is in progress between Pramod Sawant and Vishwajit Rane. Earlier this week, sources said Mr Sawant is likely to get a second term at the top post. The decision is likely to be made Monday before the BJP meets the Governor to stake claim to form government.

In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will take oath for his second term on Friday, the BJP said earlier this week. But there has been no word on the size of his cabinet or the names finalised for various ministries.

A key question is whether or not Yogi Adityanath's deputy in last term, Keshav Maurya, will be included. Mr Maurya has lost the election to Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) candidate Pallavi Patel, who was contesting on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

Sources indicated that senior leader AK Sharma has emerged as a contender for the post.

Yogi Adityanath has had several rounds of talks with PM Modi and the BJP's central leadership on candidates for his cabinet.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das are the observer and co-observer for government formation in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP won a record victory in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month, scooping up 255 of the 403 assembly seats. Its allies won 18 more seats. The tally was 43 lower than the last elections but the party's vote share saw a climb.