With the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Assembly scheduled to commence on December 8, the sense of unease between the BJP and its estranged ally, the Shiv Sena, is apparent as both sides labour over participation of the latter in the Devendra Fadvanis Government.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday reiterated that the talks between the two saffron parties were going on at a “positive” note and they were on the verge of formalising ties. In the same breathe, he urged leaders of both sides to refrain from making out of turn statements that could impact the talks.
Veiled attack
Mr. Fadnavis did not name anybody but his comments might have been a veiled attack on senior Sena leader Ramdas Kadam, who had on Sunday accused the BJP of “fooling” his party and termed the ongoing negotiations a “sham.”
“My appeal is that only official interlocutors talk to the media. Only those leaders involved in the talks, will get you the right information,” Mr. Fadnavis told reporters on the sidelines of a function.
“Talks with the Sena are progressing on a positive note. The parties have agreed upon 70-80 per cent of things. A few differences remain to be discussed and I am confident that they will be sorted out soon,” the CM said.
The two parties on Friday formally started their talks on the Sena’s induction and the BJP had sent two senior leaders -- Dharmendra Pradhan and Chandrakant Patil -- to hold parleys with Uddhav Thackeray. The Sena’s demand is for a “respectable share” of portfolios and it is said to be pushing for eight Cabinet berths.
Multiple charges
Late on Sunday night, Sena leaders met Mr. Fadnavis at his official bungalow and expressed their desire to be a part of the government. Mr. Fadnavis’ Cabinet has only 10 Ministers, with many holding multiple charges and he has indicated that he wants to expand the Ministry before the winter session.
The BJP looks unlikely to give in to the Sena’s demand for the post of Deputy CM and the Home portfolio. The future of the talks will depend on whether the BJP comes up with alternate Ministries acceptable to the Sena.
The two parties are scheduled to meet tonight at 9.30 p.m.
Stability of government
The BJP, which has 122 seats -- 23 short of a majority —is looking for a stable government. It currently depends on the outside support of the NCP, which has 41 MLAs, but their liaison comes with a moral dilemma for the BJP as it had run an aggressive campaign against the NCP on corruption.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s comments, later contradicted, that the stability of the government did not depend on his party has put the BJP under pressure to try and wriggle out of the sticky situation.
