Maha CM Eknath Shinde edgy as all MLAs who 'split' want to be ministers amid dispute on 'real Shiv Sena'

The jostling among Shiv Sena's breakaway group for securing ministerial berths has unnerved chief minister Eknath Shinde's faction in expanding the Maharashtra ministry. The Supreme Court is yet to give its verdict on which group is the 'real Shiv Sena' and the Shinde camp fears that those denied ministerial berths could return to the Uddhav Thackeray group, rendering the 'split' untenable vis-a-vis the anti-defection law.

The Shinde faction needs to retain at least 37 MLAs, out of the total 54 Sena MLAs, to make the split legal and avoid disqualification under the law. Even if four of the 40 MLAs crosses over to the Thackeray camp, Shinde and his MLAs will be in trouble.

"Right now, there is a dispute in the Supreme Court and before the election commission on which is the real Shiv Sena. However, if you expand the ministry and those who do not get berths cross over to the Uddhav camp, the whole argument of claiming a legal split will no longer hold," a Shinde camp member said.


Out of 40 MLAs who crossed over, only 9 were made ministers. Thirty more MLAs need to be accommodated and there can be only a maximum of 23 more ministers. Legislators from coalition partner BJP too need to be given berths. The second ministry expansion would see a bigger share for BJP MLAs as it is the bigger partner in the alliance. In the first expansion, 9 ministers were inducted from the BJP.

To make matters worse, smaller parties that support Shinde too are demanding ministerial berths. Several of them, like Bacchu Kadu of the Prahar Janshakti Party, have issued veiled warnings to Shinde. The chief minister had earlier said that the second expansion would happen after the monsoon session of the state assembly. However, there is no word yet on the expansion, more than a week after the session ended.

In a related development, the Shinde group has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation permission to hold a Dussehra rally at Dadar's Shivaji Park, the place where Sena founder Bal Thackeray used to address party workers. Uddhav Thackeray has been continuing the tradition. However, the Shinde camp has now sought permission, claiming that it was the 'real Shiv Sena'.