Maharashtra cabinet expansion: Even 10 days after Ajit Pawar joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra, he and the other 8 rebel NCP MLAs have not been able to get portfolios. A massive churning is going on in BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) on the portfolio allocation. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Power have also held three rounds of talks, but no solution is achieved.
Now, the matter reached Delhi as Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel and Hasan Mushrif arrived in the national capital. They met Home Minister Amit Shah. The sources said he raised his demand for the Finance Ministry during his meeting with the Home Minister. Pawar and his MLAs are hoping for a solution after the meeting with BJP high command.
Sources said they will attend the NDA meeting scheduled to be held on July 18 and they are also likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A stalemate over portfolio continues
The deadlock between three camps- Pawar, Fadnavis and Shinde continues as Pawar reportedly is adamant on Finance Ministry. While the NCP is eyeing all the plum portfolios — Finance, Irrigation and Energy, Transportation, Food supply, Sports and Youth Welfare, the Eknath Shinde group is adamant about not parting ways with such ministries. The Shinde faction meanwhile, wants to keep Excise, Education and Transport Department which is currently with Shiv Sena.
According to sources, senior BJP leaders want that some old ministers should be removed from BJP and Shiv Sena. New faces should be given a chance. Some senior ministers from Shiv Sena should step down from the post of BJP and prepare for the Lok Sabha elections. Following this, there is resentment among the present ministers of both BJP and Shiv Sena. And owing to these reasons, there is a delay in cabinet expansion or portfolio distribution.
Also read- 'Where was BJP's fact-finding team when Manipur was burning?' Mamata Banerjee attacks
