Maharashtra: Portfolio Allocation Delay Continues Due To Internal Bickering Between Shiv Sena, BJP, And NCP Faction

It has been over a week since nine NCP ministers, led by Ajit Pawar, joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government in Maharashtra.

However, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has yet to allocate portfolios to the newly inducted cabinet members and make a decision on further cabinet expansion.

This delay is due to a lack of consensus among the three parties in office - Shiv Sena, BJP, and the Ajit-led NCP faction.

The Chief Minister believes that the cabinet should be expanded first, and the decision on portfolio allocation can be made at a later time.

However, according to a BJP leader, the ongoing stalemate persists despite two lengthy meetings between Shinde, Deputy CM Fadnavis, Ajit, and senior leaders from all three parties.

The NCP group is adamant about receiving the revenue, finance, and water resources departments.

A NCP MLA has switched from the Ajit Pawar camp to the Sharad camp and back within a span of five days.

Currently, the revenue portfolio is held by Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of the BJP, while the finance and water resources departments are under the control of Fadnavis.

The Shiv Sena legislators have firmly stated to the Chief Minister that they oppose granting finance to Ajit under any circumstances. They argue that it would be unjust to do so, considering their previous opposition to his allocation of funds during the MVA regime led by Uddhav Thackeray.

There is also a possibility that the allocation of berths may be postponed by Shinde.

During Uddhav Thackeray's term as CM, we opposed Ajit Pawar due to his biased approach towards fund allocation. If he is given control over finances, he will likely continue with the same unfair practices.

Additionally, the BJP leader informed that Fadnavis has advised the CM against assigning the revenue and water resources department to the NCP.

According to reports, the NCP under Ajit's leadership is dissatisfied with Shinde and Fadnavis for not upholding the informal agreement regarding portfolios.