Victory rangoli after the BJP-led Maha Yuti's triumph in the Maharashtra polls. Representative image.
PTI file photo
Mumbai: After the landslide two-third MahaYuti-NDA majority and record number of seats, the BJP wants to redraw the power-sharing formula with alliances in terms of numbers and key portfolios.
As far as the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, this is the biggest mandate so far.
The BJP won 132 seats, Shiv Sena 57, and NCP 41.
Besides, the BJP has formal support letters from five members of smaller parties/independents.
The total of 235 in the House of 288 is two-third majority with BJP in top spot.
The 132 seats of BJP is more than the 122 and 105 that the saffron party secured in 2014 and 2019, respectively.
What is agreed upon is that the Chief Minister would be assisted by two Deputy Chief Ministers.
There are many aspects that need to be looked into.
From 1996 to 2024, Maharashtra had Deputy CMs except for 2014-19 when the BJP-Shiv Sena government was in power.
When Shiv Shiv-BJP government was in power from 1995-99, Shiv Sena’s late Dr Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane served as CM, however, BJP’s Gopinath Munde served as Deputy CM for the entire period. This was the government which late Balasaheb Thackeray dominated through what is referred to as remote-control.
When the Congress-NCP Democratic Front ruled the state from 1999-2014, the Congress had the post of CM while the NCP had its Deputy CMs.
While the CMs were late Vilasrao Deshmukh (twice), Sushilkumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, the NCP Deputy CMs were Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, late RR Patil and Ajit Pawar.
When BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis was the CM from 2014-19, he did not offer the Dy CM to the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray.
After then when Fadnavis tried to form a government, he offered Dy CM post to Pawar.
However, after the 2022 toppling of Thackeray dispensation, Fadnavis himself settled for Deputy CM under CM Eknath Shinde in the MayaYuti dispensation. When Pawar joined he became the Deputy CM.
“From 1999-2014, the party with the maximum number of seats got the CM post. However in 2004, NCP under Sharad Pawar had two more seats than Congress, however, he secured good portfolios against it and the Congress cited total strength based on pre-poll alliance with smaller parties. However, the party with lesser seats always had the post of Deputy CM and Home Minister’s post. Fadnavis had redrawn the formula and did not offer either the post of Deputy CM or Home ministry to Shiv Sena between 2014-19. In the previous government too Fadnavis as Deputy CM commanded the Home ministry,” political observers said.
Since the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly comprises 288 members, the maximum ministers that the government can have is 43. What appears now is that BJP will get 21 berths, Shiv Sena 12 and NCP 10.
“The BJP is in no mood to compromise on key portfolios given the mandate that it has received and the way RSS worked for transfer of votes,” sources said adding that senior leaders are lobbying the plum portfolios - Revenue, Home, Finance, Forests, Urban Development, Rural Development, Energy, Agriculture, Industries and Water Resources.