Maharashtra govt formation: Devendra Fadnavis reaches out, Eknath Shinde likely to take oath as Deputy CM

The meeting between Fadnavis and Shinde lasted for around 30 minutes. A Shiv Sena leader said, “A basic discussion on the swearing-in took place between the two leaders. Details regarding distribution of portfolios and Cabinet composition formula would be decided in another meeting tomorrow.” This was the first meeting between the two leaders after their return from Delhi last Thursday when they, along with Ajit Pawar, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah for discussions.

Sources said that soon after the newly elected BJP MLAs choose their legislature party leader on Wednesday, Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar will meet the Governor in Raj Bhawan and stake claim to form the government.

Late Tuesday evening, Union Finance Minister and former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, the two central observers for the BJP legislature party meeting, arrived in Mumbai. They are also likely to meet Shinde on Wednesday.

A Shiv Sena source said that the BJP leadership has been engaged in talks with Shinde to placate him to accept the Deputy Chief Minister’s post.

Ahead of Fadnavis reaching out to Shinde, the BJP deputed its emissary Girish Mahajan twice in the last 24 hours to meet Shinde — in Thane on Monday night and then again at Varsha on Tuesday. It was followed by Fadnavis’s visit to Varsha to reopen the dialogue for government formation and Cabinet composition.

Earlier in the day, in the first indication that leaders of all three Mahayuti allies will take part in the oath-taking ceremony, a joint inspection was carried out at the venue. The inspection team comprised BJP’s Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Praveen Darekar; Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Shirsat and Gulabrao Patil; and NCP’s Dhananjay Munde and Hasan Mushriff.

With Shiv Sena insistent on the Home portfolio and the BJP weighing the pros and cons of the demand, the government formation process in Maharashtra had come to a standstill for the past four-five days. Sources said that while the oath-taking will take place as planned, issues around portfolios will be resolved over the next couple of days.

Shortly after returning from Delhi, Shinde had gone to his native village in Satara district where he stationed himself for two days, saying he was unwell. He reached his Thane home on Monday. On Tuesday, Shinde visited Jupiter Hospital in Thane for a check-up before reaching his official residence in Mumbai. Later, he chaired a meeting to oversee preparations for an event to commemorate the death anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar at Chaityabhoomi in Shivaji Park on December 6. Fadnavis joined the meeting virtually.

Although both BJP and Shiv Sena leaders maintained that there was no hurdle in government formation, an insider said, “The Home portfolio remains the sticking point.”

A senior BJP leader said, “To ensure effective administration in a state like Maharashtra, Home Ministry should remain with the BJP at any cost.”

State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule underplayed the differences, saying, “The BJP along with alliance partners will form the government. It is going to be the Mahayuti government.”

Shiv Sena spokesperson Kiran Pawaskar said, “All these talks of Shindeji being upset are baseless. Mahayuti leaders will have one more meeting tomorrow to decide on Cabinet representation along with portfolios.”

In the Assembly election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 132 seats, 13 short of a majority on its own. Allies Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 seats and 41 seats, respectively.