Maharashtra government: Shinde still stalling, could derail cabinet expansion

Maharashtra CM Fadnavis plans cabinet expansion, but Deputy CM Shinde stalls over ministerial demands, risking delays before the winter session

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

Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde is still bargaining hard for key portfolios for the Shiv Sena and the number of ministerial berths to be allotted to his party. (PTI)

Shinde is still hard-bargaining for key portfolios for the Sena and the number of ministerial berths to be allotted to his party. Although, by all indications, Fadnavis will keep the key home portfolio for himself, Shinde is still pushing hard. With no clarity on these critical issues, only a partial cabinet expansion may be possible by Saturday.

The three allies in the Mahayuti government have been trying to arrive at a power-sharing arrangement ever since the coalition swept to power on November 23. On December 5, only the chief minister and his two deputies took oath of office. No other ministers have been sworn in since.

Fadnavis held a meeting with his two deputies on Sunday night in Mumbai to further discuss the sharing of power but were unable to arrive at a consensus. Insiders attribute the hold-up to Shinde, who is demanding more ministerial berths for the Sena than those offered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“After the BJP’s central leadership made it clear that the home department would remain with the party, Shinde has been bargaining for urban development and other plum portfolios such as revenue and industries. The BJP and Shiv Sena have not arrived at a consensus on these key portfolios as the BJP wants UDD and even finance,” said a Sena leader.

When Shinde was denied high-profile portfolios for his party, he upped the number of berths the Sena was being offered, said the Sena leader. While the Sena is being offered 11 to 12 berths, Shinde is asking for at least two more.

Further muddying the issue is a demand by 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 berths as the Sena. Although the NCP won fewer seats than the Sena in the recent assembly elections, Pawar says the NCP achieved a better strike rate.

After Sunday’s inconclusive deliberations, the three leaders will meet again on Tuesday to attempt a consensus. If they fail to arrive at one, only a limited number of MLAs, probably three each from each of the three parties, will be sworn in during the first expansion, said a BJP leader.

He said the BJP and NCP had arrived at an understanding on power-sharing but Shinde’s demands had thrown a spanner in the works. “Even on the day when the CM and deputy CM were sworn in in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Sena refused to present the names of its MLAs to be sworn in. As a result, only the three top leaders took oath as members of the council of ministers,” the BJP leader said.

The Mahayuti alliance has 236 members in the 288-member assembly, including 132 of the BJP, 57 of the Sena and 41 of the NCP. The alliance also enjoys the support of two Independents and five MLAs from smaller parties.