After 8 days, Maharashtra solution in sight

Odds favour the continuation of Sushilkumar Shinde as chief minister of Maharashtra amid indications that the Congress and NCP are on the ve...

Odds favour the continuation of Sushilkumar Shinde as chief minister of Maharashtra amid indications that the Congress and NCP are on the verge of striking a fresh deal for sharing power. Though the Congress is set to concede a larger share to NCP 8212; 24 of 42 ministerial berths 8212; as demanded by the latter, certain irritants remain.

The NCP is seeking two posts of deputy chief ministers and three important portfolios. Defence Minister and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee called up NCP negotiator and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel to offer two ministerial berths and two portfolios to his party. Though Mukherjee did not go public with the details, sources said of the three additional ministerial berths offered by the Congress, only one is of Cabinet rank. The other two will have to be ministers of state.

While Mukherjee said the 8216;8216;area of disagreement8217;8217; between the two parties is narrowing, Patel countered that the NCP was not enthusiastic about the proposal. However, he said the NCP would respond to the offer later. NCP spokesman D.P. Tripathi said the party will take a decision tomorrow after consulting its MLAs.

Mukherjee told reporters that 8216;8216;we cannot go beyond this8217;8217;. He added: 8216;8216;Since the mandate is for a status quo, a status quo should be maintained on the chief ministership8230;Now, it is for them NCP to respond.8217;8217;

Asked if there was a proposal for two deputy chief ministers from the NCP, he said it was among the options given to the party.

Besides two deputy CMs, the NCP is keen on five important portfolios that the Congress is holding on to 8212; Urban Development, Cooperation, Transport, Revenue and Environment and Forests. The Congress, unwilling to part with Urban Development, is inclined to give Environment and Forests and another lighter portfolio.

As it is, the NCP has the lion8217;s share of posts 8212; Speaker, deputy chief minister and plum portfolios of Home, Finance, Excise, Energy, Irrigation and Rural Development. The new compromise would tilt the balance further in favour of NCP in the ministry in terms of numbers and importance of portfolios. The issue may be resolved by tomorrow evening when the Congress Legislature Party is scheduled to meet at Mumbai to elect its new leader. The NCP has also called a meeting of its newly-elected MLAs tomorrow afternoon.

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Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, told reporters after a meeting of senior leaders at 10 Janpath that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and general secretaries Digvijay Singh and Margaret Alva would be the central observers at the meeting.