In Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as CM, Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde took oath as Deputy CMs. With this, the fight for CM’s chair between Fadnavis and Shinde ended, but the names of the cabinet and ministers have not been finalized. The picture is not clear on how many ministerial posts will be given to BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP quota and who will get which department. In such a situation, the game of check-mate is going on between the three constituent parties of the Mahayuti regarding the division of the departments of the Cabinet and the Ministry.
Will NCP, BJP and Shiv Sena get the same departments which were divided in the grand alliance in the Eknath Shinde-led cabinet that lasted for two and a half years in Maharashtra? Similarly, will the Fadnavis cabinet also have the same faces who were included in the Shinde cabinet? This is being said because all the faces included in Shinde cabinet have been successful in winning the elections and becoming MLAs. However, if the role of CM and Deputy CM changes after the election results this time, then will the nature of the cabinet also change?
After taking oath as Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis while talking to journalists said that there is no dilemma regarding cabinet expansion. All three constituent parties will decide together. There is no dispute in this. The cabinet will be expanded before the start of the session in Nagpur. Apart from this, after the swearing-in of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena MLAs Bharat Gogavale and Sanjay Shirsat indicated that the cabinet will be expanded by next Wednesday. The winter session of the Assembly is starting from December 16 in Nagpur, due to which it is believed that the cabinet will be formed before that.
The ongoing war for political supremacy between CM and Deputy CM in Maharashtra has stopped, but this has not ended the conflict. Now a dispute may arise in the Grand Alliance regarding cabinet and portfolio. Eknath Shinde, who left the post of Chief Minister and was satisfied with the post of Deputy CM, is looking for a good participation in the cabinet and a high profile ministry. Similarly, Ajit Pawar also wants to increase his political power by standing in favor of Fadnavis from the beginning. That is why Eknath Shinde has been showing his political attitude even before taking oath.
Power sharing formula in cabinet
A formula had emerged regarding power sharing in Fadnavis’s cabinet, in which it was said that there would be one ministerial post for five MLAs. BJP has a total of 132 MLAs, due to which it can get 22 to 23 ministers. Similarly, Shiv Sena, which won 57 seats, may get 11 to 12 ministerial posts and NCP, which won 41 seats, may get 8 to 10 ministerial posts. However, the formula for distribution of ministers in the cabinet among the three parties of the Grand Alliance has not been formally announced. In such a situation, Shinde and Pawar camps are making political moves to increase their political power. Under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis, BJP is ready to play from the front foot and Shinde and Pawar are no less.
Will Shinde’s ministers get a place in Fadnavis team?
In the year 2022, when the Mahayuti government was formed under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, Chandrakant Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan, Suresh Khade, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Ravindra Chavan, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Vijaykumar Gavit and Atul Save were ministers from BJP quota. Similarly, Dada Bhuse, Sandipan Bhumre, Uday Samant, Tanaji Sawant, Abdul Sattar, Deepak Kesarkar, Gulabrao Patil, Sanjay Rathod and Shambhuraje Desai were ministers from Shinde’s Shiv Sena camp. Similarly, Dhananjay Munde, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Aditi Tatkare, Hasan Mushrif, Anil Patil, Dharmarao Atram and Sanjay Bansode were ministers from Ajit Pawar’s NCP quota. All these ministers have won the elections again, due to which questions are being raised whether all these leaders will be able to get a place in the Fadnavis cabinet?
Conflict in Mahayuti regarding portfolio
In Maharashtra, there may be a conflict over portfolio between BJP, Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde group and NCP of Ajit group. BJP, which won 132 seats, is now preparing to show its strength. BJP is in no mood to give Home Ministry and Finance Ministry to anyone. BJP wants to keep both these important departments with itself. In the Shinde-led government, the Home Ministry was with Devendra Fadnavis and the Finance Ministry was with Ajit Pawar. After being the CM of BJP, Shiv Sena camp is claiming that when BJP had given up the post of CM in 2022, then it had got the Home Ministry and now when Shinde has given up the chair of CM, then the claim is being made on the Home Ministry.
Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is continuously demanding Home Ministry. Shinde was not even ready to take oath on the post of Deputy CM. But it is believed that he agreed to take oath only on the promise of the Home Ministry. Shiv Sena MLA is also continuously demanding Home Ministry. Similarly, NCP chief Ajit Pawar is eyeing the Finance Ministry. Ajit Pawar has held the Finance Ministry before also. BJP is in a mood to retain its control over treasury and law and order by keeping the finance and home ministries.
Which department will go to whose account?
In the Mahayuti government, everyone’s eyes are on important departments like Home, Revenue, Urban Development, Irrigation and Social Justice. There will be intensive talks between the three parties before taking the final decision on the division of ministries. Even after this the final seal will be given. BJP can retain important departments like Home, Revenue, Urban Development, Irrigation, Forest, Transport, Higher and Technical Education and Housing. Apart from this, BJP can also stake its claim on departments like Culture, Tribal Development, General Administration, Law and Judiciary and Information Technology (IT).
NCP Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is in talks with the Finance Ministry to hold departments like Cooperation, Agriculture, Panchayati, Food and Civil Supplies, Ports, Relief and Rehabilitation, Irrigation, Social Justice and Women and Child Development. These are the departments which have direct relation with the public and which are from rural areas. NCP’s base is more in rural areas, due to which Ajit Pawar wants these ministries in his account.
CM-turned-Deputy CM Eknath Shinde wants the Home Ministry for himself, but at the same time there is an effort to retain all his nine ministries. Shinde camp has its eyes on the Industry and Urban Development Department. Apart from this, they are setting their sights on high profile ministries like Energy, Revenue, Irrigation and Public Works Department (PWD). For this, Shiv Sena’s argument is that when Shinde was the Chief Minister, BJP had kept all these ministries with itself. Therefore, now that the CM is from BJP, Shiv Sena should get important departments in the same proportion. The way the struggle for the post of Chief Minister continued for 12 days and Shinde remained adamant. In view of this, the rift within the Grand Alliance may increase further due to cabinet division.