Crisis brewing in MVA as Sena MLA threatens to resign

A week after ministers were sworn into the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, discontentment seems to be brewing with Shiv Sena minister Abdul Sattar threatening to resign from the Uddhav Thackeray-government on Saturday.

However, late in the evening, he denied that he has quit the government.

The allocation of portfolios and allotments of guardianship of districts to ministers has been delayed.

Sattar, an MLA from Sillod, was inducted as a minister of state as against his expectation of a Cabinet berth.

He is the lone Muslim face from the Shiv Sena in the ministry.

Sattar was with the Congress but was expelled after the Lok Sabha polls.

He joined the Shiv Sena ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections.

That Sattar was unhappy was evident from the past few days, however, on Saturday morning, news surfaced that he had resigned.

After reports of his resignation surfaced, his son Sameer Sattar said: "I have come to know about this from media, please wait and watch, Abdul Sattar sahab would himself clarify."

Later, in the evening, he said that he had not resigned.

"The reports that I had resigned had been deliberately spread."

Sattar is expected to meet Thackeray on Sunday.

Top Uddhav aide and Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai denied that Sattar has resigned.

"It is not true... Abdul Sattar has not resigned... These are false reports," Desai told DH.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the government is of Maha Vikas Aghadi and not the Shiv Sena's.

"He has been included even though he came from outside," Raut said.

Sattar was also unhappy over the Shiv Sena supporting the Congress in Aurangabad zilla parishad president elections.

In fact, several Shiv Sena leaders have been left out of the ministry but among those who openly spoke include Bhaskar Jadhav and Anil Babar.

Meanwhile, NCP minister and party's chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said that the portfolio allocation would happen by Monday.

"It is true that allocation of portfolios has been delayed... The swearing in took place on December 30 and it was expected to be out on January 1... In fact, a new ministry of chief minister's office is being created... It is taking some time," he said.

Meanwhile, Congress minister Nitin Raut said that the "final list" is with the chief minister and it would be "announced soon".

In fact, Raut ,too, seems to be unhappy as the Public Works Department assured to him earlier is now being given to Ashok Chavan, a former chief minister.