Nearly 10 days after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government assumed office under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, the deadlock between the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena seems to have ended over distributions of ministries following a meeting between the Chief Minister and Sharad Pawar.
Six ministers were sworn in along with the CM on November 28, but no portfolios have been allotted so far. According to sources, Mr. Thackeray and Mr. Pawar also had discussions on a Cabinet expansion likely to take place on December 9, ahead of the winter session of the Assembly in Nagpur. The portfolios for the existing ministers will be announced within the next 24-hours, sources said.
“When we held an important meeting today related to the Irrigation Department, some officials demanded project files be signed by the respective department ministers. We asked them to come back tomorrow and have it signed straight from the ministers of the respective department. The portfolios will be finalised tonight,” said a senior minister.
Senior MVA leaders said there was no change in the overall ratio of the ministries as discussed before the alliance was stitched together. The Sena will have 16 ministers, NCP 15, and the Congress will get 12 ministers.
Mr. Thackeray will have 30 Cabinet ministers and 12 Ministers of State (MoS). While the portfolios will be made public by Saturday, sources said the NCP is likely to get both Home and Finance, while the Sena will stick to Urban Development, Housing and Irrigation departments. “The Congress is likely to keep only revenue as one of the major departments and get more MoS berths,” said a senior leader.
