Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party start power-sharing talks; 10 Ministries on table

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is understood to have offered five Cabinet berths and an equal number of Minister of State posts to Shiv Sena in its Government in Maharashtra as the estranged allies yesterday began talks to chalk out a power- sharing formula after days of acrimony between the allies.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Chandrakant Patil yesterday met Sena President Uddhav Thackeray at his residence here to thrash out a power-sharing arrangement between the saffron outfits, who parted ways on the eve of October Assembly polls after 25 years of partnership.

Pradhan is a Union Minister, while Patil is a member of the Devendra Fadnavis Cabinet in Maharashtra, where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government won a controversial trust vote earlier this month.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has offered five Cabinet and as many Minister of State berths to Sena in the round one of talks, highly-placed sources in the ruling party said.

“It was decided that we will offer the Shiv Sena five Cabinet berths and five MoS berths. This is what we can offer as far as Ministries are concerned. But yes, we are willing to negotiate on the number of state-run corporations (chairmanship) that we can offer to them (Sena),” they said.

The sources, however, refused to disclose the portfolios that have been offered to Shiv Sena, which had earlier insisted on Deputy Chief Minister’s post, a demand turned down by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Talks between the former allies resumed after a gap of almost a month since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government came to power, a period during which leaders from both sides traded charges.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had offered unconditional outside support to the minority Government, but Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has maintained an ambiguous stand on taking backing of the Sharad Pawar-led party, which was attacked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of corruption during campaigning for the Assembly polls.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was reportedly forced to resume talks with its estranged ally after facing flak from various quarters for being seen as taking support of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Several ruling party leaders, since the past fortnight, had been asserting that Shiv Sena is a “natural” ally of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it was eager to have the Bal Thackeray- founded outfit on board the Fadnavis Government.

Chief Minister Fadnavis yesterday said his party is keen to join hands with Sena once again. Uddhav had, however, chosen to keep mum on Fadnavis’ comments and said he would talk to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when it initiates formal negotiations.

A senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had said the Cabinet expansion is likely to happen either on November 30 or December 1, a week before the winter session of new Assembly beginning in Nagpur from December 8.