MUMBAI : Trouble for Shiv Sena? NCP demands Maharashtra Chief Minister’s post for 2.5 years, Deputy CM for Ajit Pawar
A day ahead of Uddhav Thackeray’s oath-taking as Maharashtra chief minister, NCP leader Praful Patel confirmed that the deputy CM of the alliance will be from his party and the speaker from the Congress.
Mr Thackeray will be sworn at 6.40 pm tomorrow at Shivaji Park in Dadar, the place where his party holds traditional Dussehra rally each year According to sources “There will be only one Deputy Chief Minister and that will be from the NCP,” said Patel after attending a meeting of MLAs of the three alliance partners in Mumbai.
“How many ministers will take oath will be decided tonight. One or two MLAs from each party will take oath as ministers. The Speaker has been decided by all three parties, the Speaker will be from the Congress and the Deputy Speaker from NCP,” he added.
On Wednesday night, Shiv Sena youth leader Aaditya Thackeray arrived in Delhi to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi to invite her for the ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday. In a show of strength, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has invited Gandhi, all Congress Chief Ministers, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and DMK chief MK Stalin for the ceremony at Shivaji Park.
The Congress has reportedly agreed to give up its claim on the Speaker’s post in return for 13 berths — nine cabinet and four state. The possible names doing the rounds for the cabinet berths are Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar, Yashomati Thakur, Nana Patole, Varsha Gaikwad, Amin Patel, Ashok Chavan, Amit Deshmukh,
Bunty Patil, Vishwajit Kadam, KC Padvi and four state ministers. Later in the day, it was revealed that the parties have agreed upon 16 berths for the Sena and 15 for the NCP.
Wednesday saw hectic developments in the state as the 288 new MLAs were sworn-in and cameras had a field day as NCP’s Supriya Sule warmly welcomed her cousin Ajit Pawar to the ceremony with a hug.
Dismissing reports of rift between the two after Pawar rebelled against the party and joined hands with the BJP, though he called off the alliance within three days and the government lasted just as long.
“Maharashtra has refused to buckle under pressure and MLAs have retained their self-respect. Why should BJP get so desperate for power in Maharashtra? Though we showed the tally of 162 MLAs, their efforts to prove us wrong were hate-worthy,” the Sena said in its mouthpiece Saamana.
It added: “Now, the Fadnavis government has run away without even facing the majority test. No other government or political party was insulted so much in Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar stopped his ‘vastraharan’ in the last stage, but BJP stands completely naked now. An arrogant rampage has stopped in Maharashtra. Now everything will be auspicious.”
The decision to elect Thackeray as nominee for CM’s post was taken at a joint meeting of the three parties at a hotel in Mumbai, hours after the three-day-old BJP government led by Devendra Fadnavis and supported by NCP’s Ajit Pawar collapsed. Ajit Pawar had earlier resigned as the deputy chief minister.
The swearing-in ceremony, which was earlier scheduled for December 1, has been brought forward — it will be held at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai on November 28. Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said the ceremony was brought forward since MLAs have to return to their constituencies.
Thackeray, who will be the first member of his family to occupy the top political post, said his government will not seek “revenge” against anyone.”I will go to Delhi to meet my ‘elder brother’ after the government is formed,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had called him “my younger brother” during campaign rallies.
Maharashtra’s 43 ministries need to be divided between three parties and the ratio believed to be in discussion is 15 ministries for the Sena, 15 for the NCP and 12 for the Congress. But smaller parties like Swabhimani Sangathana and Samajwadi Party also need to be accommodated.
There is no agreement on who will get the big ministries – home, finance and revenue. Sources say the Congress has demanded the post of Speaker but sources say the Sena and NCP are not on board with that. The alliance has reportedly agreed on a common minimum agenda that can help the Shiv Sena and the Congress, who have always been on opposite sides of the spectrum, work together. (Bureau Report With Agency Inputs ).
