Maharashtra crisis: Why NCP entry is distressing Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena

The Pawar vs Pawar battle in Maharashtra is hotting up. The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has been inducted into the state government. For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the split in the NCP is a win, but it could turn out to be a big loss for its ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The latter is not too pleased with the new changes in the state Cabinet and unease has started creeping in.

Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs took oath as ministers on Sunday. But three days on, no ministerial berths have been allocated. The three sides – BJP, Shiv Sena and the rebel NCP faction – are reportedly at loggerheads over power sharing.

After the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the first attended by the NCP, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde held a meeting with his two deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. However, they did not arrive at a decision as they disagreed on the distribution of portfolios.

The trio are expected to meet again on Wednesday to discuss the allocation. The Pawar faction has reportedly been demanding finance, energy, food and civil supplies, rural development, water resources and women and child welfare, a senior BJP leader told Hindustan Times. However, Shinde does not want Ajit Pawar to get the finance berth and the departments held by his ministers to be reshuffled.

Also read: Sharad Pawar vs Ajit Pawar: Who has more support?

Tension in Shinde camp

The Shinde camp split from Uddhav Thackeray in June last year to form a government with the BJP. Since then, its leaders are waiting their turn to get portfolios in the second phase of the Maharashtra Cabinet expansion, which has been long pending. Now with the inclusion of the nine NCP leaders, their plans have gone awry, leaving Sena MLAs in distress. Many fear that their political space will shrink as they have to make room for the NCP, which has a wide base in Maharashtra.

As displeasure among the Sena grows, Shinde has called for a meeting of all legislators and other party leaders at his official residence, Varsha Bungalow, on Wednesday, where they are expected to discuss Pawar’s entry into the government. This comes after the core committee of the Shiv Sena met at school education minister Deepak Kesarkar’s Ramtek bungalow in Mumbai’s Malabar Hill on Tuesday to discuss the political developments in the state.

Several Shiv Sena MLAs and ministers spoke out about their displeasure with the inclusion of NCP in the government at Tuesday’s meeting. MLA Sanjay Shirsat even asked that if “everything has to be sacrificed” then what is the point of being in power, according to a report in The Indian Express.

“After NCP joined us, people in our group were upset because some of our leaders will not get their desired position. It is not true that all our leaders are happy with NCP joining us,” Shirsat said Wednesday.

According to the legislator, Shinde and Fadnavis have been informed and they will have to “resolve the issue”. “We were always against NCP and even today we are against Sharad Pawar. Udhhav Thackeray was used by Sharad Pawar as CM. The NCP [Sharad Pawar] used to run the government when Uddhav was the CM,” he added and went on to say that the future course of action would be decided by Shinde.

Sena’s Bharat Gogawale is upset as his political rival, NCP’s Aditi Tatkare, who is now a minister is likely to get the guardian ministership of Raigad, which he had his eyes on. However, he told the media that nothing would be achieved by getting angry. “We will accept the situation and move forward. Those who were to get one bhakri (bread) will now get half and those who were to get half will now get quarter.”

Also read: Devendra Fadnavis: The man behind Maharashtra coups

The future of Shinde’s Sena

Sources said discussions at the Sena meeting revolved around speculation that with the inclusion of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in the government, the BJP wanted to send a message to the Shinde-led party that it was not indispensable, according to a report in the news agency PTI.

Their worry is not misplaced. The top BJP leadership has been concerned after surveys indicated unfavourable results if the saffron party and Shinde’s Sena contested the 2024 general and state Assembly elections together, say some experts.

According to senior political analyst Vivek Bhavsar, with the Shinde camp’s winnability in the Lok Sabha election in serious doubt, the faction is now being considered “dead weight” by the BJP, reports The Hindu.

Pawar as CM?

It’s not just Cabinet expansion that the Shinde camp has to worry about. There is increased speculation that Ajit Pawar will be made chief minister of the state.

Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had said earlier that the BJP had reportedly struck a deal with Ajit Pawar to be chief minister. The oath-taking of the NCP faction was carried out hurriedly because of the imminent disqualification of the 16 rebel MLAs of the Shinde’s Sena.

Maharashtra speaker Rahul Narvekar is expected to rule on the disqualification of the Sena MLAs based on the Supreme Court ruling by August 10. Sources told Rediff.com that the rebels will be disqualified. Shinde will then be asked to resign, leading to a dissolution of the council of ministers, after which Ajit Pawar will be made CM.

Shinde’s flopped coup?

Cracks have already started appearing in Shinde’s Sena, according to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction.

“CM Eknath Shinde ji dashed back to Mumbai from Nagpur. Trouble is brewing in his camp. His MLAs are voicing displeasure. The entire coup initiated by him taking a high moral ground seems defeated after Ajit dada joined Govt,” NCP spokesperson Mahesh Bharet Tapase tweeted.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), which is watching from the sidelines, has taken a potshot at Shinde & Co. “Eknath Shide faction backstabbed us blaming us for a coalition with NCP and shifting from our Hindutva agenda .. but now what happened to them?” asked Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi.

The future of Shinde’s Sena appears more uncertain than ever before. It remains to be seen what happens next in Maharashtra’s big political gamble.

With inputs from agencies

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