Ahead of deadline, Uddhav to take majority test today

MUMBAI: The Uddhav Thackeray-led government is likely to prove its majority in the Maharashtra assembly on Saturday itself, well ahead of the December 3 deadline, said people familiar with the development.

The coalition of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress has already set the ball rolling, and the pro-tem of the Maharashtra assembly has been changed.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had named BJP MLA Kalidas Kolambkar as the protem speaker, but after Thackeray was sworn in as chief minister, Kolambkar has been replaced with NCP MLA Dilip Walse Patil. While the three parties are engaged in proving their majority, they are still bickering over portfolios.


The Congress, which had got the Speaker’s post two days back, isn’t happy with it. It wants to give up the Speaker’s post for two reasons: first, because the NCP had objected to Congress giving Prithviraj Chavan the Speaker’s post. The NCP and Chavan have shared not so pleasant a past ever since the latter became Maharashtra CM in 2010.

The other reason being state Congress leaders feel that the party needs a person “in a position of influence’, and so it wants the deputy chief minister’s post instead of the speaker’s. If the NCP and Sena concede, then Congress’ Balasaheb Thorat could well become the deputy CM.

The Congress is also against the idea of Ajit Pawar getting the deputy CM’s post. Sources said portfolio distribution could take a few more days. The only portfolios that have been decided so far are revenue (Congress), home and finance (NCP), in internal discussions said sources.