MUMBAI: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde proved his majority on the floor of the House, but his ministry’s expansion hangs in the air due to a plea in the Supreme Court urging disqualification of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.
Sources said the Maharashtra CM and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis have decided to go for the cabinet expansion after July 11.
The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has filed a petition for the disqualification of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs for violating the party whip and working against the party interests.
The Supreme Court will hear the petition on July 11.
“We are not in a hurry for the cabinet expansion. The Supreme Court verdict will be very significant that will actually decide the fate of the government. Shinde figures on the list of the disqualified MLAs,” said a rebel Sena MLA.
“Meanwhile, we have won the Speaker’s election and proved our majority on the floor of the House. The court decision will further clear the way for our government,” said the rebel MLA.
“We are the real Shiv Sena. Even then, they are knocking the court’s door. They should stop now. Once we get a breather from these court cases, we will surely expand the cabinet,” Shinde said.
The party’s rebel MLA Gulabrao Patil, who was a minister in the Uddhav government, on Wednesday said his group will claim the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol of the Shiv Sena.
“We are carrying forward the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray. We will take forward his and Sena’s core
Hindutva agenda forward. People are with us,” Patil said.
Meanwhile, speculation is rife about the allocation of portfolios. As per the Maharashtra assembly strength, the incumbent government can allocate 42 ministers, including junior ministers.
The Shinde camp has been demanding 12-15 ministries and asking the BJP to adjust independent MLAs and smaller parties from the BJP quota.
Shinde on Wednesday said that rumours are spread that he had met NCP president Sharad Pawar a day before.
"My photo with NCP chief Sharad Pawar is being made viral. There was no such meeting. Please don't believe in rumours," Shinde tweeted.
Shinde's rebellion with 39 MLAs of Shiv Sena against the party leadership led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last week.
Shinde took oath as the chief minister on June 30 with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was part of the erstwhile Shiv Sena-led MVA government.
When they were camping with Shinde in a Guwahati hotel, Shiv Sena rebels had demanded that Uddhav Thackeray break ties with the NCP and Congress and alleged that the NCP was scheming to finish off the Sena.
They had also claimed that they were not getting enough funds for the development of their respective constituencies from the finance department, which was then headed by NCP's Ajit Pawar.
MLA Gulabrao Patil on Wednesday said the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was the real claimant of the party's 'bow and arrow' poll symbol, a claim contested by the Uddhav Thackeray-headed camp of the saffron outfit.
Patil, a minister in the previous Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, also said 12 MPs and 22 former MLAs of the party are supporting Shinde.
"We are the real claimant of the party's bow and arrow symbol," he said.
Lok Sabha MP from Sindhudurg Vinayak Raut, a member of the Thackeray-headed camp, challenged the rebels to declare that they have quit the Shiv Sena and dared the BJP to call mid-term elections in the state.
"The rebels have no right to claim the party symbol which was created by our father (Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray, " he asserted.
"We are ready for mid-term polls. The BJP should end political uncertainty in the state and call mid-term elections," Raut said.
The Sena faction led by Shinde joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in the state last week following the collapse of the MVA dispensation.
Earlier in the day, talking to reporters in his constituency in Jalgaon district, Patil claimed 12 out of 18 Sena MPs would soon join the Shinde-led faction.
The former minister said the Shinde faction will restore the 56-year-old regional party's glory.
"We (rebel camp) have 40 out of the 55 MLAs with us, and 12 out of 18 MPs are coming with us. So who does the party belong to? I have met four MPs personally."
"We also have 22 former MLAs with us," he said.
Both Thackeray loyalists and the Shinde faction have claimed their respective group represents the original Shiv Sena.
SC to hear petition on July 11
According to sources, CM Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis have decided to go for the cabinet expansion after July 11.
The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has filed a petition for the disqualification of rebel MLAs for violating the party whip and working against the party interests. The SC will hear the petition on July 11.
(With PTI Inputs)