With just a week left for Fadnavis government to prove its majority in the Maharashtra Assembly, BJP and Shiv Sena are yet to resolve their differences over terms for the latter’s participation in the ministry, Deputy’s Chief Minister’s post being one of the sticking points.
While both sides have been maintaining since last Friday when Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray attended Devendra Fadnavis’ swearing-in that discussions were on to sort out the differences, a Sena MP on Tuesday said talks were “stuck” over Deputy CM’s post.
“The talks between the two parties are stuck on the question of Deputy CM’s post. We have been demanding Deputy CM’s post for our nominee which they don’t want to give. We can make adjustments with regard to portfolios but not this,” a Sena MP said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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Sena has been insisting on following the 1995 formula under which BJP, being the junior partner, had got Deputy Chief Minister’s post, in the first coalition government formed by the two saffron parties.
The practice was followed by successive Congress-NCP governments for 15 years, but now BJP, which has emerged as the single-largest party with 121 seats in the 288-member Assembly, wants it to be discontinued.
He also said part of the problem was with portfolios being offered as important ones like home, finance, revenue and urban development have already been allotted to BJP ministers.
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“Discussions should ideally be a two-way affair but here they want us to accept whatever they give,” he said, adding Sena, despite having 18 Lok Sabha MPs, was given just one berth in the Union Cabinet and an “insignificant” portfolio of Heavy Industries.