NEW DELHI, March 7: Given the size of its coalition, the BJP is planning a jumbo ministry but has set a ceiling of 69, so that it can avoid criticism by referring to the precedent set by Indira Gandhi and Narasimha Rao. Atal Behari Vajpayee is expected to have a smaller ministry initially and reserve some ``lollipops'' for later use.Ministry formation is proving to be a nightmare for the BJP. On the one hand, demands for berths are flowing in. On the other, senior leaders of some allied parties whom the BJP would like to include are playing hard to get.Heavyweights like Ramakrishna Hegde and George Fernandes, who were being tipped for important portfolios, are now said to be reluctant to join the Cabinet. Mamata Banerjee, too, is not interested. Uncertainty about the longevity of the BJP-led government is holding them back.Sources said they would prefer to be certain that the government will last before committing themselves. It is for precisely the same reason that the BJP is anxious to pull themin: Once they are ministers, their stakes would be higher, giving a measure of stability to the government.For Vajpayee, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party this morning - the first step towards prime ministership - the tightrope walk has just begun. Allies apart, the BJP is not short of ministerial aspirants. ``The real problem will come from within our party because so many people have to be accommodated,'' said a party functionary.At present, the formula is that each ally would be given one Cabinet berth while State ministerships would be distributed proportionately according to their strength. Independents like Buta Singh and Maneka Gandhi, both having been senior ministers earlier, are also expected to get Cabinet posts.But AIADMK chief Jayalalitha may throw a spanner in the works. In return for her party's participation in the government, she is believed to be asking for the finance portfolio and seven other ministerial posts for her MPs. But this is likely to benegotiable.Jayalalitha is to arrive in Delhi tomorrow night for discussions with Advani and Vajpayee.The BJP would like to keep the key ministries of home, finance, defence and foreign affairs for itself. But a leader admitted that the current situation was not an ideal one so some (perhaps the last two) would have to be given up. But home and finance are likely to be non-negotiable.Vajpayee today hinted at the difficult task ahead. ``There are many challenges before the party and it should face them in a united manner,'' he told the party's Rajya Sabha and newly-elected Lok Sabha MPs who had gathered in Parliament's central hall to elect him as their leader. His name was proposed by BJP president L K Advani and seconded by Murli Manohar Joshi and Sikander Bakht.The BJP was on the threshold of power at the Centre and no one should doubt that, Vajpayee said. He appealed to all political parties to play a constructive role in evolving a consensus to tackle major issues facing the nation. ``Now thatelections are over it is time to get down to work and set aside the war of words which all parties indulged in during the elections,'' he said.In a message of reassurance to minorities, he said there had been no discrimination in the country on the basis of religion and respect for all religions had been the national creed. ``Hate is not on the BJP's agenda. We don't consider different religions as obstacles but as symbols of our cultural richness which represent unity in diversity. We should take them all together. This is a challenge for me,'' he said.Proposing Vajpayee's name, Advani described election '98 as the turning point for the BJP. Though the party did not gain substantially in numbers as compared to 1996, it had acquired an all-India status by establishing its presence in the South and East.Atal avoids RSS; CWC may meet today Proposing Vajpayee's name, Advani attributed the BJP's victory to the ``extreme sacrifice and prayers of lakhs of RSS workers.'' However, Vajpayeeavoided any reference to the RSS and said ``the friendly parties and the workers'' were responsible for the victory. The country's agenda is our agenda,'' he said. A meeting of the Congress Working Committee is likely to be held tomorrow in the wake of BJP electing Atal Behari Vajpayee as its Parliamentary Party leader amid claims that the party has achieved a ``working majority'' for formation of the government at the Centre.
