PATNA, Nov. 20 -- The BJP and JD (U) leaders went into huddle soon after the arrival of Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda at the state capital late on Wednesday evening. Soon after his arrival for the swearing-in ceremony, Shah and Nadda held a meeting at a prominent hotel here, where they would be staying. According to informed sources, a final list of ministers would be submitted to the Governor on early Thursday morning and ministers to be sworn in would be informed in the morning itself. "On Thursday, 18 ministers including CM and two deputy CMs would be sworn in. Among the ministers, six each would be from BJP and JD (U) while three would be from other three alliance partners, the LJP (RV), HAM-S and RLM," said a BJP leader familiar with the matter. The meeting with the JD(U) and alliance partners, sources said, primarily discussed the list of ministers, the number and the portfolios that each of the alliance partners will get. More importantly the vexed issue of Speaker's post also came in for discussion as both the BJP and the JD(U) have staked claim for the coveted post. NDA leaders familiar with the developments, had said on Tuesday, that during the three-hour long meeting with JD(U) leaders, Lallan Singh and Sanjay Jha, no final decision could be reached on some issues including ministers, distribution of departments, and the Speaker of the Assembly. Amit Shah's close aide and election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan has already reached Bihar and is busy preparing the list of ministers. Consensus had been reached among NDA partners over the post of Assembly Speaker, with BJP's Prem Kumar likely to be appointed for the post and Deputy Speaker would go to the JD(U), said people familiar with the development. According to unconfirmed reports, JD(U) leaders likely to be part of the new Cabinet include Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Shrawan Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Lesi Singh, Sheila Mandal, Madan Sahni, Ratnesh Sada, Mohammad Zama Khan, Jayant Raj, Umesh Singh Kushwaha, and Ashok Chowdhary. Other probable inductees from JD(U) are Rahul Kumar Singh, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Kaladhar Prasad Mandal, and Panna Lal Singh Patel, sources said. BJP sources said most ministers from the outgoing Cabinet will be retained, with the party considering three new faces. Those likely to continue include Samrat Choudhary, Prem Kumar, Mangal Pandey, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Nitish Mishra, Renu Devi, Jibesh Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Janak Ram, Hari Sahni, Kedar Prasad Gupta, Surendra Mehta, Santosh Kumar Singh, Sunil Kumar, and Motil Lal Prasad. Potential new faces from BJP include former IPS officer Anand Mishra (elected from Buxar), Rana Randhir, Gayatri Devi, and Vijay Kumar Khemka, said party insiders. From the alliance partners, Raju Tiwary (LJP-RV); Santosh Suman (HAM-S) and Snehlata Kushwaha, wife of Upendra Kushwaha (RLM) are doing the rounds. According to the information that emerged after Amit Shah's meeting, it has been said that leaders from all winning castes would be given representation in Nitish's new cabinet. However, no leader is openly talking about what their numbers will be yet....