Maharashtra govt: Shinde still stalled, could derail cabinet expansion

MUMBAI: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis hopes to expand his cabinet by Saturday, but deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde is stalling, negotiating a bigger role for the Shiv Sena in the new Mahayuti alliance government. The failure of the three Mahayuti allies to reach consensus on power sharing could potentially derail Fadnavis’ plans for a full cabinet expansion before the winter session of the state legislature.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is still negotiating fiercely to get the Shiv Sena’s key portfolios and the number of ministerial posts to be allocated to his party. (PTI)

Shinde is still negotiating hard on the Sena’s key portfolios and the number of ministerial posts to be given to his party. Even though, by all indications, Fadnavis will keep the main real estate portfolio for himself, Shinde continues to push hard. In the absence of clarity on these crucial issues, only a partial cabinet expansion could be possible by Saturday.

Since the coalition came to power on November 23, the three allies of the Mahayuti government have been trying to reach a power-sharing agreement. On December 5, only the prime minister and his two deputies were sworn in. Since then, no other minister has been sworn in.

Fadnavis held a meeting with his two deputies on Sunday evening in Mumbai to further discuss power sharing, but failed to reach a consensus. Insiders attribute the delay to Shinde, who is demanding more ministerial posts for the Sena than those offered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“After the BJP central leadership made it clear that the Home Ministry would remain within the party, Shinde negotiated urban development and other prestigious portfolios such as revenue and industries. The BJP and Shiv Sena have not reached consensus on these key portfolios as the BJP wants UDD and even funding,” said a Sena leader.

When Shinde was denied top portfolios for his party, he increased the number of slots offered to the Sena, the Sena leader said. While the Sena is offered 11-12 berths, Shinde is demanding at least two more.

The issue is further muddied by a demand from Ajit Pawar, who heads the third constituent of the Mahayuti alliance, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Pawar, the other deputy chief minister, says his party should be allotted the same number of seats as the Sena. Although the NCP won fewer seats than the Sena in the recent assembly elections, Pawar says the NCP had a better strike rate.

After Sunday’s inconclusive deliberations, the three leaders will meet again on Tuesday to try to reach consensus. If they fail to do so, only a limited number of MLAs, probably three from each of the three parties, will take oath in the first expansion, a BJP leader said.

He said the BJP and the NCP had reached an agreement on power-sharing, but Shinde’s demands had put a damper on the wheels. “Even on the day the CM and his deputy took oath in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Sena refused to present the names of its MLAs to be sworn in. members of the council of ministers,” the BJP leader said.

The Mahayuti alliance has 236 members in the 288-member Assembly, including 132 from the BJP, 57 from the Sena and 41 from the NCP. The alliance also benefits from the support of two independents and five deputies from small parties.