Stage set for Maharashtra CM's swearing-in on December 5; Sena, NCP vie for big portfolios

Mumbai: The stage is all set for the grand swearing-in ceremony of the new Maha Yuti dispensation in Maharashtra on Thursday.

At the same time, BJP’s key allies Shiv Sena and NCP seem to be engaging in a competition against each other for more berths and important portfolios in the council-of-ministers.

BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis is tipped to be the new Chief Minister and is giving final touches to the government.

Meanwhile, caretaker CM Eknath Shinde, who was not keeping well, was back in action and reached Varsha Bungalow--the official bungalow of the CM--in what was also seen as a reconciliatory note.

On the other hand, NCP President Ajit Pawar, who is tipped to be the Deputy CM and likely to get the finance portfolio, was in New Delhi for discussions with the BJP high-command.

Shinde too seems to have accepted the post of Deputy CM, however, he is insisting on the Home portfolio.

“Shinde has proven as to which is the real Shiv Sena…the BJP should maintain this stature,” said Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar.

Last midnight, Fadnavis’ aide and MLA Girish Mahajan met Shinde and convinced him to be part of the government.

Before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde visited the Jupiter Hospital in Thane for after check-ups. “My health is okay,” he said.

In Mumbai, he held official meetings to review preparations for the Mahaparinirvan Din, the death anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, on Friday (6 December).

At Sagar Bungalow, the official residence of Fadnavis, he held a series of meetings with top leaders and BJP ministerial aspirants.

Shinde’s aide Uday Samant too met Fadnavis.

State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and his Mumbai counterpart Ashish Shelar briefed him of the arrangements being made for the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday (5 December).

BJP’s central observers - former Gujarat CM and party’s in-charge of Punjab Vivek Rupani and Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman - will preside over the BJP Legislature Party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan.

“The BJP is the single largest party and the CM should be from the BJP…even Shinde has said he has no objections to the BJP CM,” said Rupani before his arrival to Mumbai.

After the BJP LP leader is elected, the MahaYuti top-brass would meet and discuss modalities of government formation and head to Raj Bhavan to call on Governor CP Radhakrishnan and formally stake claim to form the next government.

The total ministers that the state can have is 43, which is 15 per cent of the total strength of the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

The MahaYuti has a strength of 235 - with BJP getting 132 seats and support of five smaller parties and independents, Shiv Sena 57 and NCP 41.

The BJP will have the lion’s share of the Cabinet ministers as well as Ministers of State - around 20 to 21 berths.

Rest would be divided among the two allies - however, the NCP is insisting that it should be on strike rate and not numbers.

"If we look at the strike rate in our alliance, BJP is at number one. The NCP is at number two and the Shiv Sena is at number three. So our demand is that we should get as much space as them,” said senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.

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Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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