Mumbai,UPDATED: Jul 7, 2023 13:32 IST
By India Today News Desk: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis held late night talks on Thursday to discuss power sharing ahead of the Cabinet expansion. In the meeting, Shinde and Fadnavis discussed Cabinet expansion after the entry of a third ally — Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction.
The meeting comes days after Eknath Shinde loyalists expressed displeasure over Pawar’s entry into the ruling coalition.
“In politics, when our rival gang wants to join us, we have to take them in and that is what the BJP did. After the NCP joined us, people in our group were upset because some of our leaders would not get their desired position,” Sanjay Shirsat, an MLA from the Shinde faction, had said.
Later, the Shinde camp refuted reports that its MLAs were “uncomfortable” with the induction of Ajit Pawar and eight NCP MLAs into the government. The Shiv Sena has also asserted that Eknath Shinde will remain the chief minister.
READ | Inclusion of NCP faction in Maharashtra coalition upsets Eknath Shinde loyalists
Meanwhile, NCP leader Mahesh Tapase, part of Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction, has claimed that Shinde’s late-night meeting with Fadnavis is significant because Sena MLAs are not happy with the induction of Ajit Pawar as “they can’t take high moral ground” anymore.
Notably, Shiv Sena MLAs had cited the inadequate allocation of funds by Ajit Pawar, who was finance minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, to their constituencies as one of the reasons for rebelling against Uddhav Thackeray.
ALSO READ | What Ajit Pawar’s defection means for prime players in Maharashtra politics
“Trouble in Shinde camp. The late night meeting between Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis assumes significance as MLAs not happy with the induction of Dada [Ajit Pawar]. MLAs worried that now they can’t take high moral ground after induction of Ajit Pawar,” Mahesh Tapase said in a tweet.
The Sharad Pawar faction leader also wondered how the Shinde camp would react if key portfolios such as finance were alloted to Ajit Pawar faction.
Ajit Pawar’s rebellion against Sharad Pawar led to a split within the NCP. So far, he appears to have the support of 31 MLAs. Sharad Pawar has the support of 13. Ajit Pawar needs the support of 36, a two-thirds majority of the party’s 53 MLAs, before the Election Commission considers his claim to the party name and symbol.
ALSO READ | Will alliance with Ajit Pawar make or mar BJP’s Lok Sabha poll prospects?
