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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday dismissed claims suggesting that Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was upset with the BJP over not being reappointed as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and assured that there were no disagreements regarding the allocation of Cabinet portfolios in the state.
“There is no reason for Eknath Shinde to be upset with us. The BJP holds a greater number of seats in Maharashtra. Even in the previous government, despite having more seats, we made Eknath Shinde the Chief Minister. We have supported him steadfastly for the past two and a half years,” Amit Shah said while speaking at Agenda Aaj Tak in his first media interaction after the BJP’s Lok Sabha win.
Speaking on the Mahayuti alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement and its strategy for the Maharashtra elections, Shah said that it was pre-determined that the Chief Minister would be chosen based on the poll outcome.
“There is absolutely no issue in Maharashtra Cabinet berth allocation. Everything is happening as planned. We are days ahead in terms of government formation compared to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government,” the Home Minister said.
The Cabinet expansion of the BJP-led Maharashtra government would take place on December 15 and as many as 30-32 Mahayuti ministers will take oath in Nagpur, sources told news agency PTI.
Recently, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP chief JP Nadda met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi to discuss the allocation of portfolios in Maharashtra. However, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was not present at the meeting.
On December 5, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister of Maharashtra, with Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar as his deputies. This followed the Mahayuti alliance’s victory in the November 20 Assembly elections, securing 230 out of 288 seats. According to a party leader, the BJP is likely to retain 21 to 22 ministerial positions, including the Chief Minister’s post, with four to five positions expected to remain vacant.
