After more than two weeks of Uddhav Thackeray taking oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the alliance of Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress, has finally come to an understanding on portfolio distribution on Thursday.
In the distribution of portfolios between the three alliance partners, the Home and Development portfolio went to Shiv Sena, which also holds the chief minster seat, Finance and Housing went to the NCP while the Congress got Revenue portfolio.
The Home Ministry was allotted to Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena. Shinde was also allotted Urban Development, Environment, PWD, and Tourism and Parliamentary Works ministry. Subhash Desai of Shiv Sena got the Industry, Higher and Technical Education, Sports and Youth, and Employment ministry in the state.
Chhagan Bhujbal of NCP gets Rural Development, Social Justice, Water Resources and State Excise ministry in the Uddhav Thackeray’s cabinet. NCP leader Jayant Patil, who was also elected as the Legislative Party Leader of NCP after Ajit Pawar was dismissed from the post, gets Finance and Planning, Housing, Food Supply, and Labour ministry.
Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat gets Revenue, School Education, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries ministry. Nitin Raut of Congress got the PWD, Tribal development, OBC development, Women and Child Development, and Relief and rehabilitation ministry.
The development came after long negotiations between the three parties of the newly formed alliance in the state.
Maha Vikas Aghadi is the outcome of a split between BJP and Shiv Sena over the chief minister post, resulting in Sena’s alliance with opposition Congress and NCP to form an alliance which they named as Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Earlier, there was uncertainty on the Chief Minister post in the Aghadi as well, but on November 28, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray ripped off the uncertainty by taking oath as the Chief Minister with six others as ministers.
The alliance formation witnessed many twists and turns as the three parties struggled to under an understanding on a ‘Common Minimum Programme’.
The political journey of MVA also witnessed an dramatic incident when Ajit Pawar, NCP leader and nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, took oath as Deputy Chief Minister with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister on the early morning of November 23. The move was challenged in the Supreme Court which ordered floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly.
Interestingly, Ajit Pawar followed by Devendra Fadnavis gave their resignations from their posts paving way for Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA to stake claim for the government formation in the state.