There was no Central interference in Cabinet allocation talks in Maharashtra: Chandrashekhar Bawankule

BJP Maharashtra leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule discusses Cabinet allocation and election strategy in The Hindu interview.

There was no friction between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and Nationalist Congress Party-Ajit Pawar (NCP-AP) top leadership in Maharashtra, and there was no Central interference in the Cabinet allocation discussion, State BJP president and Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said in an interview to The Hindu.

Mr. Bawankule refuted speculation that Mahayuti alliance leaders had travelled to Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in order to resolve their internal differences over the allocation of Cabinet berths. “Amit Shah and Narendra Modi gave complete freedom to the Maharashtra leaders to take the discussions ahead. Nobody was upset here,” he said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, senior NCP(AP) leader Sunil Tatkare, and Mr. Bawankule held the Cabinet portfolio allocation discussions in Maharashtra. “The Centre took a call only on the policy decisions. Otherwise, nobody went to Delhi with demands, Cabinet expectations, or for negotiations,” Mr. Bawankule told The Hindu.

Mr. Bawankule elaborated on the formula for deciding the names of the leaders who were given an opportunity for a position in the Cabinet. “Cabinet expansion has been done with only one goal in mind — to bring on-board the performing leadership which will be able to run the government efficiently, and which will be able to deliver on the manifesto within 100 days,” he said.

When asked if the BJP had made any suggestions to the Shiv Sena and the NCP(AP) on ministerial names, Mr. Bawankule said that each party had taken its own independent call.

Despite a massive mandate (232 of the 288 seats were won by the Mahayuti alliance which returned to power), it took the new government over 22 days to decide on portfolio allocation. Only one Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers took the oath of office on December 5, although the results were declared on November 23.

Mr. Bawankule, however, denied there had been a delay. “There was no delay. And the reports about some leaders being upset are only media speculations. It took time to develop an understanding among the leaders,” he said.