The Shiv Sena-BJP political slugfest is ongoing with no party acceding to the demand of the other. The Shiv Sena is demanding the CM’s post on a rotational basis with the BJP looking in no mood to yield to the demand. Now, according to a report in ThePrint, it is likely that Sena will settle for the Deputy Chief Minister’s post along with some plum portfolios, and that the demand for the CM’s post on a rotational basis is only being used as a pressure tactic.
According to party leaders that spoke to the publication, the Shiv Sena is likely to settle for the 1995 formula. During this time, the Sena was the senior party in the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. So it was decided that Manohar Joshi of the Sena will take the CM’s post, while the Deputy CM post will go to Gopinath Munde of the BJP (the junior ally).
This time, Shiv Sena contested 124 of the total 288 seats, with BJP contesting 150 assembly seats; the remaining 14 seats were given to smaller allies. Out of these, Sena won 56 and the BJP 105. But now, with the BJP tally in Haryana coming down to 40 from 47 in 2014 and from 122 to 105 in Maharashtra, the Sena is seeing this as an opportunity to drive a hard bargain for an ‘equal’ power sharing formula.
One of the Sena leaders who spoke to ThePrint said that there are ‘issues’ which need to be resolved before staking claim for forming the government. He also said that there is a possibility that the leadership will agree to the Deputy CM’s post and lucrative portfolios like finance, revenue, home and PWD.
