AN INTERESTING WHATSAPP message is doing the rounds of the Mantralaya in Mumbai these days. Loosely translated from Marathi, it reads, “Following is the list of work done by the government after being sworn in: a) Distribution of bungalows to ministers; b) Distribution of cabins to ministers; c) Allocation of portfolios; d) Pacifying unhappy legislators… You may not believe it, but all this is being done for the welfare of farmers.”
The coalition government of the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress might blame the BJP’s social media warriors for the message, but the time Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took for cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation was so long—he and six other ministers were sworn in on November 28, Maharashtra got its full cabinet on December 30 and the portfolios were finally allotted on January 5—that people were wondering whether they really needed a government for the state to function.
Coming to the allocation of portfolios, the NCP emerged the clear winner, pocketing key departments such as home, finance, irrigation, rural development, cooperation, social justice and housing. The Shiv Sena may have its chief minister, but in terms of key portfolios it has only urban development, agriculture, a portion of the public works department that deals with big infrastructure projects, and environment and tourism for Aaditya Thackeray. The Congress got revenue, PWD, energy and some other low-profile departments.
The NCP’s ministers would effectively control more than half of the state’s budget. And, with party leaders such as Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse-Patil and Anil Deshmukh cornering crucial portfolios, it remains to be seen how much of a lasting impact Thackeray can make.
According to Shiv Sena insiders, the whole exercise tested Thackeray’s patience. The Sena was reportedly ready with its list of ministers from the very beginning, but its allies were not. The Congress, especially, took a long time as the state unit had to get the central leadership’s approval. Portfolio distribution took even longer as the NCP was keen on the home ministry and the Congress wanted agriculture or urban development. The Sena, which earlier held home, gave it to the NCP, but was firm on retaining urban development and agriculture.
A day before the distribution of portfolios, Shiv Sena Minister of State Abdul Sattar threatened to resign. According to sources, Sattar had sent his resignation to senior party leader Anil Desai; he was unhappy at not being made a full minister. Sattar, originally a Congressman, had joined the Sena before the assembly elections in October. He had earlier been a cabinet minister in the Congress-NCP government.
He was also miffed about the Congress getting the Aurangabad zilla parishad president’s post. He wanted the district—he represents the Sillod constituency in Aurangabad—to remain under the Sena’s control.
The Sena had made a pact with Congress; the latter would get the president’s post while the former would have the vice president’s position. But, with Sattar resigning, his supporters in Aurangabad rebelled. On January 4, the outgoing president, a Sena leader, defied the party and stood for election. The BJP and Congress polled equal number of votes. Lots were drawn and the Congress candidate won. The BJP, however, won the vice president’s post. Aurangabad strongman and former Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire blamed Sattar for the loss. “Don’t let that traitor enter Matoshree (Uddhav’s residence),” said Khaire.
The party, however, dispatched former minister Arjun Khotkar to pacify Sattar. After two rounds of talks, Khotkar told the media that Sattar had not resigned and would meet Thackeray on January 5.
Sattar is not alone. A number of other Sena legislators are upset at being overlooked. These include Ramdas Kadam and Diwakar Raote, who were powerful ministers in the previous BJP-Sena government, and MLAs Pratap Sarnaik and Bhaskar Jadhav. The legislators apparently felt that there was no need to give three ministerial berths to independents. Of the three, two are known Sharad Pawar loyalists. Jadhav is especially bitter as he had left the NCP to return to the Sena (he had quit in 2005). He was a minister in the Congress-NCP government and had been promised a ministerial berth when he rejoined the Sena.
Though Thackeray tried to downplay the Sattar episode, a party insider admitted that the discontent among Sena MLAs was a matter of concern. “We are aware that 20 to 22 of our legislators are not happy,” said the insider. “The BJP is out to exploit it. Our efforts to pacify them are on; we will manage to convince them.”
Meanwhile, the Congress, too, has its hands full. Its MLA Kailash Gorantyal has threatened to resign and seek reelection. Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who took the initiative to form the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government, has been sulking as he was left out of the cabinet. Mumbadevi MLA Amin Patel was disappointed that the high command preferred Aslam Shaikh, who is his junior by two terms.
“Many legislators are now feeling that it would have been better to give outside support to the government,” said a Congress legislator. “That way the Congress would have retained the remote control of the government. We could then have forced the NCP and the Sena to toe our line on every issue.”
Party insiders said that some leaders like former chief minister Ashok Chavan were so desperate that they would have been happy with any cabinet berth, even without any significant portfolio. Chavan had to be satisfied with a divided public works department. The biggest portfolio that the Congress got—revenue—went to Balasaheb Thorat.
Sources said that one Congress legislator had to strike a deal to be made minister as he was in talks with the BJP before the elections and the party’s central leadership knew about it. He is said to have made a PowerPoint presentation for the BJP leadership, explaining how his induction would help the party. But now, he is thanking his stars that his plans to join the BJP fell apart. The deal is that he would contribute generously to the party coffers as long as he is minister.