Shiv Sena deserves home portfolio in Fadnavis-led Maha govt, says party leader amid deliberations

Shiv Sena on Dec 6 reiterated that its leader and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has demanded the crucial home portfolio from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and three Mahayuti allies were holding talks regarding portfolio allocation.

The BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) constitute the Mahayuti, which registered a thumping win in recently concluded assembly polls. BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Chief Minister, with Eknath Shinde and Pawar and his deputies on Dec 5 nearly two weeks after the results.

“When Fadnavis was the deputy CM in the previous Shinde-led government, he also held the home department. Now, Saheb has demanded the same arrangement, and talks on portfolio allocation are in progress,” news agency PTI quoted Bharatshet Gogawale as saying.

“The demand was probably made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah. We hope the talks on portfolios will be over in the next two days,” he added.

Shinde was “reluctant” to accept the deputy CM post but was convinced by Sena leaders for the job. However, he is adamant about the home department to which the state police report.

In June 2022, the Maratha strongman from Thane led a revolt against then-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, the head of a joint Shiv Sena. This led to a split in the party and triggered the collapse of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Shinde then became chief minister with support from the BJP, Thackeray's former ally. Fadnavis, then a former chief minister became his deputy, and was joined by Pawar in July 2023.