Maharashtra govt formation: Shah turns down proposal to offer additional berths to Sena at Centre

As the BJP’s tally went down in the October 21 state Assembly elections compared to its 2014 performance, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had raised a pitch for “equal sharing” of power, reminding the BJP of the 50:50 formula “agreed upon” between himself, Shah and Fadnavis ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The proposal for additional berths at the Centre to soften the Sena’s stance regarding the chief minister’s post had first come up during backchannel talks between the chief minister and Uddhav. Besides equal division of ministerial portfolios and state-run corporations in Maharashtra, Sena had also pressed for two additional ministerial berths (one Cabinet and one MoS) in the Union government and sought governorship roles for party veterans in two states.

While Fadnavis had flown to Delhi on Monday to discuss the proposal with Shah, sources said the latter had ruled out additional berths in the Centre as well as governorship roles in two states for Sena leaders. According to a source, Shah told Fadnavis that negotiations on power-sharing would be limited to posts and portfolios in Maharashtra alone.

Sources said Shah’s decision has been conveyed to the Sena leadership. Late on Tuesday, Fadanvis met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur.