Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday confirmed that the expansion of state Cabinet would take place this week itself.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday confirmed that the expansion of state Cabinet would take place this week itself. However, the BJP is not ready to give any Cabinet berth to Shiv Sena, which may lead to further escalation of tension between the two parties. Mr Fadnavis said Sena would be given the number of ministers and portfolios as agreed by the two when Sena decided to join the government, meaning Sena would be offered only two MoS in the expansion.
Mr Fadnavis further said the expansion could not be delayed further and would have to be done this week itself.
Some of the senior BJP legislators and allies, barring Shiv Sena, have been putting pressure on the government to fill up the posts. Currently, there are 30 ministers, including chief minister, 18 Cabinet and 12 ministers of state. Maharashtra can have up to 42 ministers.
According to sources, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and Shiv Sangram will be given one cabinet berth each, while Sena will be offered two ministers of state.
When asked about the seats to be offered to Sena, the chief minister said, “We have a written agreement with Shiv Sena which was made when they joined the government. Both parties have agreed on the number of cabinet berths and portfolios that Sena will get.”
Though Shiv Sena has its two seats in the cabinet vacant, all of its agreed portfolios have already been allotted to its existing ministers. “Currently, two Sena ministers Ravindra Waikar and Deepak Keskar have been given two portfolios each. When new Sena ministers are included in the cabinet, all Sena ministers will have a single portfolio,” said a source.
However, this may not go down well with Shiv Sena, which has been claiming that it does not get due respect from the BJP.
The relations between the two saffron parties have been strained ever since they broke the alliance prior to the 2014 Assembly elections (Sena joined the BJP-led government later). Sena, especially through its mouthpiece Saamana, has been regularly taking swipes at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ahead of the next year’s civic elections in Mumbai, BJP leaders, of late, too have adopted an aggressive posture towards the Sena.
In the meeting of BJP’s state executive on Sunday, its functionaries have demanded that the party should not have an alliance with the Sena in future. On the same day, during its 50th anniversary event, Sena workers too have expressed reservations against having an alliance with the BJP for the BMC election.
