Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde on board, but Mahayuti must mind the gap

Despite the celebratory atmosphere at the swearing-in ceremony, tensions among the three allies persist, with no sign of the power-sharing formula yet

Mumbai: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis, 54, was sworn in as Maharashtra’s 21st chief minister at a grand ceremony at Azad Maidan on Thursday evening, 12 days after the Mahayuti alliance’s emphatic win in the Maharashtra assembly elections. Taking oath along with him were leaders of two allied parties, the Nationalist Congress Party’s Ajit Pawar and the Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, who had kept everyone guessing about his participation in the government until hours before the swearing-in.

Mumbai, India - Dec. 5, 2024:Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar arrives for the swearing ceremony at Azad Maidan, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, December 5, 2024. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union home minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, several other union ministers, and chief ministers of states ruled by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, like Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, were in attendance. Among the 35,000 people who had been invited to Azad Maidan were some of India’s top industrialists, film stars, sportspersons and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

However, despite the celebratory atmosphere, tensions among the three allies persist, with no sign of the power-sharing formula, although Fadnavis, in his first press conference after taking over as CM, said it was close to being finalised. “We have almost completed the power-sharing talks and have frozen the number of the portfolios. I cannot reveal the number and the names of the portfolios as they will have to be announced by the respective parties. The expansion of the cabinet will done before the winter session of the state legislature [expected to begin from December 16],” he said.

Earlier, the suspense over a sulking Shinde’s participation in the government continued until late Thursday afternoon, even as multiple lawmakers from his party made their way to his bungalow to cajole and convince him to take oath.

Shinde, sources said, had agreed to be Fadnavis’s deputy but was adamant about getting the home portfolio and the assembly speaker’s post for his party. “All Shiv Sena MLAs want Shinde to be in the government and have made it clear to him that none of our legislators will take up any ministerial berths if he is not in the government,” said his close aide and industries minister Uday Samant while briefing the media a few hours before the swearing-in.

Fadnavis spoke to Shinde at least eight times to persuade him to join his government. The BJP leader’s emissary, Girish Mahajan, also met the rebel Sena leader five times to try and convince him. Shinde appeared to have relented on Wednesday after senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan met him. On Thursday, after Shinde agreed to take oath, his letter of acceptance was taken by Samant to Fadnavis and, later, to the governor’s office, ending the week-long drama.

Both Fadnavis and Shinde insisted that the latter was not unhappy. “Shinde was not unhappy. He accepted my request [to join the government] immediately,” said Fadnavis. Later in the day, addressing a separate press conference at his party office, Shinde also said he would cooperate with Fadnavis just like the latter did during his tenure as chief minister.

Shortly after the swearing-in, the three-member Cabinet held its first meeting, where the new chief minister signed a file clearing ₹5 lakh in medical assistance for an economically weak patient in Pune. A special session of the state assembly has been convened on December 7, 8 and 9 for the newly elected MLAs. Talks on cabinet formation are to resume on Friday and, subsequent to that, the Cabinet will be expanded next week.

The strength of the state Cabinet is 43, including the chief minister. While the BJP is widely expected to retain half of the berths, including the crucial home department, the remaining 20-odd berths will be divided between the two allies, with finance likely to stay with Ajit Pawar and urban development with Shinde.

“Though the central leadership had asked the three leaders to work out the details of Cabinet formation at the state level, talks between us and the Shiv Sena have failed over certain portfolios,” said a senior state BJP leader, who did not want to be named.

The said leader also expressed concern that, in addition to the home department and the speaker’s post, the distribution of guardian ministries of Maharashtra’s 36 districts could also prove contentious. Each guardian minister controls the district development fund, an especially crucial resource ahead of next year’s local body elections.