After forming the new government and winning the trust, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis were accorded warm welcome in their respective bastions. Yet, a major challenge awaits the duo as they undertake the task to form their council of ministers.
With the elections to big municipal corporations, municipal councils and local bodies just a few months away, Shinde-Fadnavis team would want to err on the side of caution. “Let us breathe properly. It was quite hectic for us for nearly a fortnight, let is settle down,” said Shinde, who leads the bigger faction of the Shiv Sena. Shinde was given a grand welcome after he reached his home in Thane on Monday night.
His deputy and former chief minister Fadnavis assured that the “cabinet expansion will happen soon.” Fadnavis flew to his hometown of Nagpur on Tuesday, where he, too, was welcomed with aplomb.
Shinde and Fadnavis were sworn in by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on June 30, as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and on July 4, the new Shiv Sena-BJP government led by Shinde cleared the floor test in the state Legislative Assembly.
According to sources, chances are that that new alliance would want to wait till July 11, when the Supreme Court hears several petitions on the issue of disqualification of members.
“It’s a very complex issue. There are senior leaders in both the parties, several of them former ministers and ministers of state. First, they would want to decide on the formula on the number of cabinet ministers and ministers of state among both the parties. Thereafter, sharing of portfolios would be an important issue,” informed sources said. There would be a tussle for ministries such as revenue, home, finance, rural development, energy, water resources, urban development, public works, co-operation, and marketing.
The balance among the five regions of Mumbai-Konkan, western Maharashtra, north Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha also needs to be maintained in view of the elections ahead.
There are also some other complex issues pending before the Supreme Court, such as reservation to the Maratha community and political reservation in local bodies to the OBC.