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NCP wants two Dy CMs to seal deal
Tough bargaining continued on Monday to untie the Maharashtra knot. And though the NCP seemed ready to concede the chief minister's post to the Congress, it was not willing to cede ground without a fight.
Tough bargaining continued on Monday to untie the Maharashtra knot. And though the NCP seemed ready to concede the chief minister's post to the Congress, it was not willing to cede ground without a fight.
It was making last-ditch efforts to extract as much as it could before sacrificing the top post to its ally. Though the final power-sharing formula may be hammered out during the meeting between Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi, negotiations hit another hurdle late Monday night over the NCP's insistence on a second deputy chief minister. This would be in addition to what the Congress has already given the NCP - three extra ministerial berths and two more portfolios.
The Congress is willing to give up Forests and Environment, but the NCP is said to be holding out for Cooperation and Housing - two most significant departments in Maharashtra and Mumbai. While rooting for Chhagan Bhujbal as the second deputy chief minister, the NCP also want Revenue which the Congress has refused to concede.
NCP pointsman for talks, Praful Patel, said, "There is no final solution. They took eight days to come with a proposal. Give us a day or two at least to examine it."
Ironically, the NCP is keen that if the Congress retains the CM's post, Sushilkumar Shinde should be kept in the saddle. "After all, he is close to our leader Sharad Pawar,'' said an NCP official.
The first signs of NCP muscle-flexing came when Patel said the legislature party, which met in Mumbai, "wasn't enthusiastic about the Congress proposal and wanted the CM's post to come to the party. We have to take our state unit's view into account".
The fact of the talks being deadlocked came as a surprise as right through the day NCP sources maintained that a solution was imminent.
Since the legislature party has authorised Pawar to decide on the matter, the NCP office-bearers will meet on Tuesday to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, Patel is said to have already conveyed the legislature party's sentiments to senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee.
