Government formation in last lap, NCP-Congress to talk power-sharing with Shiv Sena today – Times of India, The Times of India

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leader Ahmed Patel and other leaders at Pawar’s New Delhi residence on Thursd …Read More

NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: With NCP and Congress scheduled to hold talks withShiv Senaon Friday, permutations of the likely power-sharing arrangement are being keenly discussed with regard to a “rotational” chief ministership — shared between Sena and NCP — as well as deputy CMs and portfolio distribution.
The issue of a split term for the CM’s post is expected to be taken up with the Sena, which might not be keen on the idea, seeking an unencumbered tenure for its chiefUddhav Thackeray. But the demand will be taken up with Congress backing NCP’s claim for the second shot at the top job in Mantralaya on the ground that with 54 MLAs, Sharad Pawar’s party is almost on a par with Sena’s 56.
NCP and Congress are also likely to insist that Uddhav himself takes the helm, rather than replicating the arrangement where his father and founder-chief of Sena, Balasaheb, preferred to run the affairs through remote-controlled proxies Manohar Joshi andNarayan Rane. “Uddhav’s leadership will help stabilize the coalition,” said a source familiar with the deliberations in Delhi.
An NCP leader told TOI the three-party coalition, which has been namedMaharashtraVikas Aghadi, is likely to stake claim for formation of government on Friday or Saturday and would like the new government to be sworn in on Monday. Sources said if NCP does not insist on sharing the CM’s post, Congress and NCP will each get their own deputy chief minister.
NCP has its own inner dynamics to sort out, considering that its deputy CM nominee will be the putative CM too. By current indications, Sharad Pawar is likely to nominate nephew Ajit Pawar for the pecking order. Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is seen as a contender for her father’s political mantle too, having won three Lok Sabha elections.
Yet marathon discussions over last two days were not limited to hammering out a “common minimum program” to steer the coalition government but also the modalities of power-sharing, including distribution, among allies, of portfolios and corporations falling under various departments. The formula seems to be a 16 – 15 – 12 split of ministerial berths among Sena, NCP and Congress.
With a three -party alliance under discussion, there are no precedents as might have been the case with an NCP-Congress coalition. Some discussion on distribution of ministries has taken place with regard to departments like home, revenue, finance, PWD and housing and urban affairs. These berths could be bargaining chips once the nitty-gritty of government formation is discussed.
It is felt that should Sena remain opposed to a split term — ironically the demand over which it fell out with BJP — NCP and Congress could in turn bargain for key portfolios. Some leaders familiar with the discussions said non-Sena nominees for home and finance or revenue could be on the cards. In the past, deputy CMs, both in Congress-NCP and Sena-BJP regimes, have held the home portfolio.
Sources said the announcement of a final agreement between the three parties could come in the next couple of days. While discussions are likely to be concluded expeditiously, formalities like collecting signatures of all MLAs by summoning them to Mumbai may require time. Also, governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari is likely to be in the national capital for two days for a “governors’ conference ”.
After a final round of talks at Pawar’s residence, former CM and Congress leaderPrithviraj Chavanand NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “NCP and Congress have completed discussions. There is complete unanimity on all issues. Decision will be taken tomorrow on what the architecture of the alliance will be after talks with Sena. ”Talks with smaller allies PWP, Samajwadi Party and Swabhimani Paksha will also be held. Chavan is tipped for the speaker’s post.
Interestingly, while the first formal discussion with Sena will be held on Friday, NCP-Congress regularly consulted Thackeray’s outfit during the last two days. As if performing the last formalities ahead of formalizing the political deal, theCongress Working Committeewas called at short notice on Thursday morning where members were briefed about the alliance with Sena and NCP to form the government in Maharashtra.
Sources said some members still expressed reservation about the tie-up, seeking language in the common minimum program to convey that Congress has a “separate identity” than Sena. A member reportedly even suggested that “Constitution of Congress” be put in the document besides the country’s Constitution. Sena has opposed any mention of “secularism” in the common program, which has led to the inclusion of “spirit of the Constitution” as guiding the coalition, as reported by TOI.
However, in the end, the view in Congress was that it was a necessary step in the direction of reining in the ruling BJP, with Maharashtra leaders pointing out that more than 30 state leaders were poached in the run-up to the state polls. It was noted that the step would also weaken the NDA alliance with the walking out of Sena, a founding member, and shrink its footprint among regional parties.
It is learnt that Sena may attend the “Bharat bachao rally” in the capital which has been postponed from November (to December) , a step to project the strengthening of the opposition bloc.
At the Friday meeting between the three parties, Congress will be represented by Ahmed Patel, Balasaheb Thorat and Prithviraj Chavan, NCP by Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil and Sena by Uddhav Thackeray,Eknath Shindeand Subhash Desai.