Maharashtra CM nomination on December 3; BJP reaches out to sulking Eknath Shinde

Nirmala Sitharaman and Vijay Rupani have been appointed as observers to convene the legislative party meeting of the Maharashtra BJP on Wednesday

MUMBAI: Almost ten days after it got the highest number of seats in the assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced that its chief ministerial candidate will be elected by its 132 MLAs on Wednesday. The development has also given momentum to the resumption of power-sharing talks between the Mahayuti’s three parties.

Eknath Shinde is reportedly upset by the BJP’s refusal to concede the home portfolio and speaker’s post to the Shiv Sena. (ANI)

The BJP central leadership has appointed union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani as observers to convene the legislative party meeting of the Maharashtra BJP on Wednesday, where the MLAs will elect their leader. In keeping with tradition, the BJP will choose its nominee for the top post just a day before the swearing-in ceremony at Azad Maidan on December 5. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is the front-runner for the post, although the official announcement will be made on Wednesday.

Once the chief ministerial candidate is announced by the central observers in consultation with the parliamentary board over the phone, the name will be announced by Thursday noon. The meeting at the central hall of the state legislature is expected to be followed by a meeting between the three Mahayuti leaders to discuss the sharing of power. After this, the BJP’s chief ministerial nominee, along with Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP chief Ajit Pawar, will proceed to Raj Bhavan to stake a claim to form the government.

With the announcement of the observers and the convening of the meeting to elect the chief ministerial face, the power-sharing process, which was stalled for the last three days, has resumed. The BJP’s trouble-shooter and senior leader Girish Mahajan called on caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde at his Thane residence on Monday evening to invite him for the talks.

Shinde is reportedly upset by the BJP’s refusal to concede the home portfolio and speaker’s post to the Shiv Sena. Hours after Union home minister Amit Shah informed him in a meeting on Thursday night that the chief minister would be from the BJP and he would have to settle for the deputy chief minister’s post, Shinde proceeded to his native village, Dare. Although he returned to his Thane residence on Sunday, he remained at home, citing illness.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar claimed that Shinde was not unhappy. “He is neither upset nor is he responsible for the delay in the swearing-in ceremony,” he said. “He clarified five days ago in a media interaction that he would accept the decision taken by the BJP central leadership.” The Sena leader, however, added that since the elections were led by Shinde as the CM, “some kind of honour was expected—that the chief ministership would be given for the first six months or one year to him”.

Kesarkar added that the decision on power-sharing was not supposed to happen till December 2. “There was no question of any meeting with us,” he said. “Being the prime party of the Mahayuti, the BJP should have conveyed a meeting for the power-sharing talks. Shinde saheb should not be held responsible.”

The bickering between the Shiv Sena and BJP continued even on Monday, as some Sena leaders expressed their discontent at not being called by the BJP during its visit to the swearing-in venue to oversee arrangements. “It is a Mahayuti event; the BJP shouldn’t act as if it is their event,” said Kesarkar. “Had they invited us, we would have joined them.” Reacting to this, Mahajan said, “The visit by Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Pravin Darekar was not a scheduled one. We will have a joint visit to the venue, and Sena leaders will be invited.”

On Monday evening, Mahajan visited Shinde at his Thane residence and held an hour-long meeting with him. “I met him to enquire about his health,” he said. “We did not discuss politics or power-sharing. That will be done at a higher level.”

Mahajan, who called Shinde a “broad-minded leader”, claimed that it was untrue that he was upset. “He is recovering from his illness and will resume official work tomorrow,” he said. “He is scheduled to chair a meeting tomorrow to take stock of the preparations at Chaitya Bhoomi for the annual December 6 event [commemorating the death anniversary of Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar].”

BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar has rubbished reports that the Shiv Sena was hell-bent on certain portfolios. “I have spoken to Shiv Sena leaders, and they have clarified that they have full faith in the leadership of Amit Shah,” he said. “They told me that whatever is decided by Amitbhai [Shah] will be acceptable to them. The home department might be their demand but there is no obstinacy. There is no bickering within the Mahayuti and the distribution will be done amicably.”

Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar are expected to meet in Mumbai to discuss the sharing of portfolios, number of cabinet berths and guardian ministerships. “If it is not resolved at state level, the three leaders may have a meeting with Amit Shah in Delhi to take a call on sharing,” said a senior BJP leader.

The BJP is expected to offer the urban development department to the Shiv Sena, along with 10 to 11 other portfolios. Over 30 MLAs from the three parties will take their ministry oaths on Thursday in the swearing-in ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, union ministers and National Democratic Alliance leaders are expected to attend the ceremony at Azad Maidan, where arrangements have been made for over 40,000 people.