Mumbai:
Eknath Shinde has ‘relented’ and will take oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant told reporters Thursday evening, bringing the curtain down (potentially, given the many twists and turns so far) on nearly two weeks of ‘will he, won’t he’ buzz surrounding the Sena boss.
“Eknath Shinde is set to take oath as Deputy Chief Minister. We had a discussion with Devendra Fadnavis , who provided us with a letter confirming Shindeji will join him as his deputy. I am here to submit it to Governor CP Radhakrishnan,” Mr Samant said outside the Raj Bhavan.
The climbdown – after days of Eknath Shinde and his party laying claim to the Chief Minister’s post – came about less than two hours before Devendra Fadnavis is to be sworn in as Chief Minister.
Mr Shinde was widely expected to join Mr Fadnavis this evening as his deputy; sources told NDTV last evening he had been persuaded to stand down designs on retaining the top post and join an alliance member – almost certainly Ajit Pawar of the NCP – to be one of two Deputy Chief Ministers.
READ | It’s Official: D Fadnavis Will Be Maharashtra Chief Minister
Indeed, Mr Fadnavis himself dropped broad hints to that effect last evening when he met Governor CP Radhakrishnan and formally staked the Mahayuti alliance’s claim to form the next government.
READ | E Shinde Comes Around, To Take Deputy Chief Minister Post: Sources
The matter seemed settled after nearly a fortnight of suspense and jabs from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, which mocked the BJP-led coalition for having failed to put together an administration.
The U-Turn Before The U-Turn?
But then, hours before a grand swearing-in ceremony at Mumbai’s historic Azad Maidan, a possible U-turn seemed on the cards. Sources told NDTV Eknath Shinde was re-considering his options, in what was seen as a potential last-gasp power play to force greater rewards from the BJP.
Sources said party leaders were frantically trying to persuade their boss to be part of the new government. That apparent attempt at persuasion was underlined by Sena leader Sanjay Shirasat.
“Eknath Shinde will listen to our request and take oath as Deputy Chief Minister… we want him to take the oath. We are all going to convince him and get him ready for the oath-taking,” he had said.
#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat says, ” Eknath Shinde will listen to our request and he will take oath as Deputy CM, we believe that…he is our leader and we want him to take the oath as Deputy CM…we all are going to Eknath Shinde, we will… pic.twitter.com/kD4MniN32Y
— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2024
Mr Samant then declared no Shinde Sena leader would accept a seat in the government if Mr Shinde chose not to accept the offer. A third, Deepak Kesarkar, appealed to Mr Shinde by using Mr Fadnavis as an example, pointing out he had also stepped from the Chief Minister’s chair to the Deputy’s in 2022.
READ | How D Fadnavis Accepting No.2 Role Cleared His Way To The Top
Mr Shinde, Sena leaders declared then, would announce his decision shortly.
Why The About-Face?
The dithering by Mr Shinde was being seen by many as an attempt to secure key cabinet berths in the incoming government. Part of the negotiations that saw Mr Fadnavis confirmed as the new Chief Minister saw the BJP keep around 20 cabinet berths and give a dozen to the Shinde Sena.
Just what these are, or will be, is unclear.
But they will certainly be high-profile posts; the Shinde Sena, sources said, has designs on the Home Ministry, currently held by Mr Fadnavis. At least three other big-name portfolios, including Water Resources and Public Works Department, are also expected to be heading to the Shinde Sena.
READ | BJP 22, Sena 12: What Maharashtra Power Share Formula May Look Like
The dithering was also seen as a way for a Shinde Sena, which seems to feel it has been short-changed by its ally, by to steal some of the spotlight, the attention, from the BJP and Mr Fadnavis.
Sources have said many within the Shinde Sena are unhappy at seeming to play second fiddle to the BJP despite the Mahayuti’s election win coming on the back of the Eknath Shinde government’s policies and performance over the past two-and-a-half years.
But BJP Holds The Cards
Ultimately, however, in electoral politics numbers are everything and the Shinde Sena, quite simply, doesn’t have the leverage.
Mr Shinde became Chief Minister in 2022 after leading over 40 Sena MLAs away from then-party boss Uddhav Thackeray’s side. Mr Shinde and his loyalists allied with the BJP which, then, had only 105 MLAs and no support from the NCP; that came the next year after Ajit Pawar’s rebellion.
That meant it had to accept Mr Shinde’s terms if it wanted power in Maharashtra.
This time around the BJP holds the cards.
It has 132 MLAs and Ajit Pawar’s NCP in its pocket, giving it 173 seats in the 288-seat House. It does not, really, need the Sena of Eknath Shinde to form the government. But a break-up is not a good image, particularly for a party that prides itself on working well with allies. It will also bring back memories of the 2019 split with the then-undivided Sena, which lost the BJP power in Maharashtra.
With input from agencies
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
