Mumbai: Ending the suspense over his participation in the new government, Maharashtra caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday held a meeting with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders after they visited Delhi last week. NCP leader Ajit Pawar was conspicuous by his absence in the meeting as he had gone to Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Mr. Fadnavis met Mr. Shinde at the chief minister’s official residence ‘Varsha’. He was accompanied by another BJP leader Girish Mahajan for the meeting, which lasted for about half an hour. Shiv Sena leader Bharatshet Gogawale said that no discussion was held on the government formation and there were no differences in Mahayuti over it. “Mr. Fadnavis had come to ‘Varsha’ to inquire about Mr. Shinde’s health,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis participated in a virtual meeting to review the preparations at ‘Chaityabhoomi’ ahead of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s death anniversary on December 6.
According to sources, the Mahayuti constituents — BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP — have already agreed that the chief minister will be from the BJP while there will be two deputy CMs. The BJP legislature party meeting will be held at 10 am on Wednesday to elect the leader. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani are the central observers for the meeting. Highly placed sources from the BJP informed that Mr. Fadnavis will be elected as the legislative party leader and he will be sworn in as the chief minister on August 5. Mr. Shinde and Mr. Pawar will take oaths as DCMs, the source said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the oath-taking ceremony at Azad Maidan. The BJP leader informed that only the CM and DCMs will take oaths.
Despite winning a massive mandate in the Assembly election, the Mahayuti has not been able to form the government even 10 days after the results. It is learnt that Mr. Shinde’s hard bargaining for cabinet portfolios led to the delay in government formation.
In the November 20 state assembly polls, the Mahayuti won 230 of the 288 seats, with the BJP leading with 132 seats. While the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 57 seats, Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party won 41 seats.
Though Mr. Shinde agreed to vacate the CM’s post, the deadlock continued over sharing of certain cabinet portfolios. Initially, Mr. Shinde had insisted on the home ministry. He argued that the home department was with the BJP when he was the CM and the same arrangement should continue in the new government. However, after realising that the BJP will not leave the home ministry, he demanded the finance ministry.
Mr. Shinde’s new demand stumped Ajit Pawar, who rushed to Delhi on Monday evening and waited there to meet Mr. Shah the whole day. However, he had not got Mr. Shah’s appointment till late at night. NCP leader Sunil Tatakare confirmed that his party leader may meet the Union home minister. “We had not sought Mr. Shah’s appointment as he was in Chandigarh. We may hold political discussions tonight,” Mr. Tatkare said.
When asked how the cabinet portfolios will be shared, Mr. Tatkare said it will be decided by the ‘Mahayuti’ leaders when they meet. “When all leaders sit together, we will discuss the allocation of ministerial positions.