Shiv Sena should get home portfolio in new Maharashtra govt, says party leader Shirsat

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat on Saturday insisted that the party must get the crucial home department in the new Maharashtra government and claimed attempts were being made to sideline caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Talking to PTI, Shirsat said considering Shinde's positive image and the schemes he rolled out, he would have contributed more if he had gotten two and half years more as the CM.

"The home department should be with the party (Shiv Sena). The department is (usually) with the deputy chief minister. It would not be right if the chief minister heads the home department," said the MLA who represents the Aurangabad West assembly seat.

Devendra Fadnavis holds the home portfolio in the outgoing government.


Shirsat's remarks indicate fissures that have developed among Mahayuti allies, the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP, who put up a stellar performance in the recently held Maharashtra state polls by winning 230 out of 288 assembly seats.

BJP won 132 seats, followed by its allies Shiv Sena (57) and NCP (41).

Shinde, now the caretaker chief minister, has said he will "fully support" the BJP leadership's decision to name the next chief minister, and would not be a hurdle.

According to party sources, Shinde, who travelled to his native Dare village in Satara, is upset. The party has demanded the home department in the deliberations regarding government formation.

The BJP is asking for the chief minister's post based on its numbers, and it did upset the Shiv Sena, they said.

"The BJP has certainly benefited by making Shinde the face of the Mahayuti government. The BJP or the NCP were not involved (in placating) the Maratha quota agitators. It was Shinde who took it upon himself. He also gave the Maratha reservation, so the support for him increased manifold," Shirsat said.

Shirsat further pointed out that while welfare schemes have existed in the past, Shinde gave them a new lease of life.

He alleged that NCP chief Ajit Pawar had opposed the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme for women, but the government went ahead with the scheme, and its effect was seen in the polls.

Shinde's "Common Man" image as a chief minister was more acceptable to people, and despite words like "gaddar" (traitor) used for him, he has established himself firmly after the state polls, the Shiv Sena leader said.

"This has benefited the entire Mahayuti. He was the one who took out maximum rallies. Looking at this, had he got two and half years, he would have contributed more to the state," he said.