As the informal communication for power-sharing formula between the BJP and Shiv Sena to form the government in the state has begun, the latter has indicated that it would want key portfolios such as home, urban development and revenue in lieu for chief ministership.
However, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is unlikely to concede key departments such as home, finance and urban development. The Sena could be offered revenue, housing and rural development portfolios for its ministers.
Insisting that the BJP will keep chief ministership for the entire five-year tenure of the government, Fadnavis on Tuesday said the two sides have been discussing the power-sharing formula informally.
Insiders from both the camps said there has been informal communication about the number of ministerial berths and sharing of portfolios. With the BJP being firm on not sharing the chief minister’s post, the Shiv Sena has indicated it would want equal number of ministerial berths and key portfolios in the government. The party wants a few of the strategically important departments in the government, including home, urban development, revenue, public works and housing.
“It is clear that the BJP cannot form a government without us. In that case, they must make us equal partner in power. That means conceding some key departments that play an important role in the state. We are not willing to settle for a raw deal if we are not getting chief ministership,”said a close aide of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. “If they don’t agree to this too, there could be a problem,” he said.
Since 1995, the state is being ruled by the alliance governments. In 1995, when the first Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government came to power, the two parties worked out a power-sharing formula. Under it, the Shiv Sena kept chief ministership and portfolios such as urban development, revenue, housing and cooperation. The BJP, on the other hand, got deputy chief ministership and significant portfolios such as home, finance, irrigation, rural development and public works. The successive Congress-NCP governments that ruled from 1999 to 2014 continued with a similar formula with minor changes. Referring to this, the Shiv Sena leaders are insisting the BJP should concede some important departments if it is not willing to share chief ministership. The departments that are on the Sena’s preference list are home, urban development, revenue, cooperation, housing, public works, rural development and energy.
A senior BJP leader said: “The Sena’s argument doesn’t make sense as the difference in the number of seats won by both the partners in alliance is not much. In the 2014 elections and now, we have won almost double the number of seats than the Sena. As such, the question of half the cabinet berths and half a dozen significant portfolios doesn’t arise. Besides, we won’t part with home, finance and cooperation that are strategically significant for us.”
He said the party would be willing to concede revenue if the central leadership agrees. In state administration, the revenue minister is considered number two after the chief minister and in the outgoing government, the portfolio is held by state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil.
Besides, the BJP is willing to offer housing, public works, rural development and energy departments. All these departments are with the BJP ministers in the outgoing government.
The formal discussion over the portfolio distribution among the two partners is expected to take place in the next three-four days.
