Unhappily ever after

The Congress and the NCP may have clinched a power-sharing deal after 17 days of wrangling,but the portfolio distribution...

The Congress and the NCP may have clinched a power-sharing deal after 17 days of wrangling,but the portfolio distribution reveals that the UPA partners are poised for an uneasy third term in Maharashtra as they clearly seem to want to undercut each other over the next five years to boost their own vote banks.

The NCP has managed to ensure that though the Congress won more seats,it got to keep important portfolios such as Home,Energy,Irrigation,Finance,Tribal Development and Rural Development. On the other hand,the Congress,which wanted more portfolios,including important ones held by the NCP,had to remain content with Public Health,Forests and Environment.

Apart from three additional portfolios,the Congress could not succeed in getting any vital portfolio. However,it did manage to ensure that the Tribal Development Department portfolio didnt return to Vijaykumar Gavit of the NCP,a tribal from Nandurbar who has strengthened his party in the Congress bastion. The new Tribal Development Minister is now a non-tribal Babanrao Pachpute though the portfolio stays with the NCP.

The NCP has also taken note of internal squabbles by dropping former finance minister Dilip Walse-Patil from the new government,as he could not get a lead for the party from his Assembly segment Ambegaon Pune in the Lok Sabha,resulting in the Shiv Senas Shivaji Adhalrao Patil getting elected from Shirur Pune.

The Congresshas retained the revenue portfolio with Chavan retaining the Urban Development portfolio ,a crucial factor in state which is over 42 per cent urbanised and still going strong.

Also worth noting is the importance given by the ruling parties to their strongholds. The largest number of ministers are from Western Maharashtra WM,which was traditionally a Congress bastion but after the formation of the NCP has become a bone of contention between the two. With most of the powerful Maratha satraps running cooperatives empires switching to the NCP,the region has seen a turf war resulting in the Congress losing strength.