Mumbai: Shiv Sena’s support to the Devendra Fadnavis government hinges on whether or not it will offer the deputy chief minister’s post to Uddhav Thackeray.
With just a week left for the Fadnavis government to prove its majority, BJP and Shiv Sena are yet to resolve their differences over terms for the latter’s participation in the ministry.
While both the parties have been maintaining the ‘All is Well’ stand over the issue, impatient Sena, meanwhile, on Tuesday said talks were “stuck†over deputy CM’s post.
“The talks between the two parties are stuck on the question of deputy CM’s post. We have been demanding deputy CM’s post for our nominee which they don’t want to give. We can make adjustments with regard to portfolios but not this,†a Sena MP said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
However, the 44-year-old Fadnavis had earlier said he was not in favour of making a deputy CM post in his government. While the left-out Sena is constantly hammering the new government, Fadnavis is talking of the real problems of the state.
“Maharashtra has the notorious distinction of being the state with highest farmer deaths due to suicides – 60,000 till date. We need to change this. We will strive to give every farmer easy access to electricity and water. We will connect farmers directly to the customer with better roads and technology infrastructure. Soil testing labs will be set up in every taluka and seed testing labs will be set up in every district,†he said on the farmer suicides.
On challenges and chaos of Mumbai, “Mumbai is dying and it needs to be revived. Priority areas will be housing and transport system improvement. An officer of the rank of Chief Secretary will be asked to oversee coordination between 17 key agencies created for Mumbai/MMR development. We will strive to bring down maximum travel time to one hour. The key infrastructure projects we are focusing on are the Navi Mumbai Airport Project, Coastal Road, Trans-harbour Sea Link and a mesh of elevated corridors,†said Fadnavis in a letter to NDTV.
On the other hand, insecure Shiv Sena, is taking pot-shots at the newly-elected government. Fadnavis is the sole focus of an angry editorial in the party’s newspaper Saamna on Wednesday.
“He beat his chest and said at an appropriate time, statehood would be given to Vidarbha,” the column says, urging, “As Chief Minister, he should ensure the state remains united.”
Sena has been insisting on following the 1995 formula under which BJP, being the junior partner, had got Deputy Chief Minister’s post, in the first coalition government formed by the two saffron parties.
The practice was followed by successive Congress-NCP governments for 15 years, but now BJP, which has emerged as the single-largest party with 121 seats in the 288-member Assembly, wants it to be discontinued.
He also said part of the problem was with portfolios being offered as important ones like home, finance, revenue and urban development have already been allotted to BJP ministers.