Nitish, Mamata to reach Delhi Wednesday for Modi's swearing-in

A day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Narendra Modi government, a host of chief ministers will be reaching the national capital on Wednesday, including Bihar's Nitish Kumar and West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee.

Kumar will also be attending a Parliamentary Board meeting of the Janata Dal-United.

"A meeting of the newly-elected MPs will take place at 5 p.m. at his (Nitish) official residence in Delhi," JD-U spokesperson Satya Prakash Mishra told IANS.

The JD-U registered an emphatic performance in the Lok Sabha polls winning 16 of the 17 MP seats that it contested in Bihar.

The BJP and its other alliance partner Lok Janshakti Party won all 17 and six seats, respectively, that they contested.

The JD-U is likely to get two ministerial berths in the Modi government, one Cabinet berth and one minister of state (MoS) position.

The JD-U is the third largest party in the National Democratic Alliance, after the BJP and Shiv Sena. The BJP has 303 MPs while Shiv Sena has 18 MPs.

Banerjee is likely to reach Delhi by Wednesday evening.

Trinamool Congress leaders said her visit's sole purpose is to attend Modi's swearing-in ceremony on Thursday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and some other chief ministers of BJP and NDA-ruled states are also likely to reach Delhi by Wednesday night to attend the event.

--IANS

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