chandigarh

Updated: May 25, 2019 12:37 IST

A day after winning the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the process of forming a new cabinet, and Harsimrat Kaur Badal is expected to represent the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the council of minister for the second consecutive term.

In the outgoing Modi government, Harsimrat was the minister for food processing industries.

The BJP won 302 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, and along with its allies, the saffron party-led National Democratic Alliance has secured 351 seats. The SAD, an ally of the BJP, won two seats — Harsimrat from Bathinda and her husband and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal from Ferozepur.

It is unlikely that Sukhbir will join the Modi cabinet as being the party chief, he has to focus on rebuilding the Akali Dal which has lost ground in the state following 2015 sacrilege and police firing incidents.

Sukhbir remained minister of state for industry during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 1998-1999.

Rajya Sabha member and Badal confidant Balwinder Singh Bhundar said Harsimrat may be party’s representative in the Union cabinet. “Sukhbir as the party president has a bigger role in the state as he had to prepare for the 2022 assembly polls,” he said.

“Though the SAD has only two MPs, it is unlikely that the PM will ignore the party. It is expected that Harsimrat will get an important portfolio,” said a party leader.