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Two days after the Lok Sabha election results denied a clear majority to the BJP, its allies in the NDA have started bargaining hard for plum posts at the Centre.
The BJP, however, is not in the mood to let go of key ministries and roles, sources have said.
With the single largest party well short of the magic figure, NDA allies are now on a tight deadline to reach a consensus as plans are afoot to hold the swearing-in ceremony of the third Narendra Modi government this weekend.
The four allies whose support is critical for the BJP to reach a majority are N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, which has won 16 seats, Nitish Kumar's JDU (12), Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena (7), and Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (5).
N Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, both coalition-era veterans, have emerged as kingmakers in this election and are learned to have demanded plum roles at the Centre for their support.
TDP, it is learned, has also sought the Lok Sabha Speaker's post, while JDU sources said they may press for a Common Minimum Programme for the NDA government and hope that a coordination committee formed for its implementation is led by Nitish Kumar.
The BJP, sources said, is not ready to give away the Speaker's role, and TDP may be offered a Deputy Speaker post.
JDU holds the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman post anyway.
There is another big change.
The Narendra Modi governments formed after the 2014 and 2019 elections had only symbolic representation of allies because the BJP had an absolute majority on its own.
Source: BJP Low On Numbers, But Not Keen To Lose Control In Modi 3.0: Sources