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Maha: Talks over distribution of portfolios go on

Last Updated 01 January 2020, 15:08 IST

Two days after the cabinet expansion of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra, leaders of alliance partners Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress were holding talks over portfolio allocation on Wednesday.

Till evening, it was not clear when the portfolio allocation would be announced.

With the induction of 36 ministers on Monday, the Council of Ministers has 43 members, including the Chief Minister.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Congress leaders Ashok Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Vijay Wadettiwar and Nitin Raut, NCP's Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil and Eknath Shinde of the Sena were finalising the allocation at a meeting at the state secretariat, sources said.

According to Congress sources, the party is upset that it was not given any of the portfolios concerning rural parts of the state, such as agriculture and cooperation.

"We can swap portfolios with the other two parties. We are not demanding an increase in the number of ministries," sources added.

All three parties are facing disgruntlement of leaders who were not inducted in the cabinet.

Among such MLAs are Congress' Sangram Thopte, whose supporters vandalised Pune Congress office on Tuesday, and NCP's Prakash Solanke. Both the parties claimed that they have been mollified.

Shiv Sena's Tanaji Sawant is also unhappy over being ignored in the cabinet expansion, sources said.

Bhaskar Jadhav, who had joined the Sena on the eve of Assembly polls, claimed that party chief Uddhav Thackeray had made certain commitments to him, so he was confident that he would be made minister and the exclusion left him shocked.

About a dozen Sena legislators are said be upset over not getting place in the cabinet.

On the other hand, the 12 Congress ministers visited Delhi after the swearing-in on Monday.

Congress leaders, sources said, feel that the party has not get agriculture, co-operation, housing and rural development ministries, which are concerned with rural parts of the state.

Rural development, co-operation and housing are with the NCP and agriculture with the Shiv Sena, and the Congress is keen on getting at least two of these four departments.

Congress has been allocated revenue, PWD and energy, among other ministries.

The NCP has 12 cabinet ministers and four Ministers of State, the Shiv Sena has 10 cabinet ministers and four MoS while Congress has 10 cabinet ministers and two MoS.

The NCP has bagged important portfolios of Home and Finance.

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(Published 01 January 2020, 15:08 IST)

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