The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Monday reiterated its “unconditional support” to the NDA government after one of its MPs expressed disappointment over the party missing out on a cabinet berth. The party’s leader in Lok Sabha, Shrikant Shinde, said all its MLAs and MPs are “faithfully committed” to the ruling alliance and the “ideological coalition” at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We have already made it clear that we are supporting the government unconditionally. This nation has asked and needs the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji. There’s no bargaining or negotiation for power. We have extended unconditional support to an ideological coalition. We want Prime Minister Modi to carry forward the noble work of nation building. The party, all MLAs and MPs are faithfully committed to the NDA,” said Shrikant Shinde, who won the Lok Sabha elections from Kalyan near Mumbai.
The Shiv Sena’s statement comes after MP Shrirang Barne, who retained the Maval seat in Maharashtra for the third time by defeating Sanjog Waghere Patil from Uddhav Thackeray’s faction, expressed his disappointment over the party not getting a cabinet berth and alleged partiality. His reaction came a day after the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which is also part of the BJP-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra, insisted on a cabinet berth and refused to settle for a Minister of State (MoS) offer.
What did MP Shrirang Barne say?
Alleging partiality in the distribution of cabinet berths, Barne said after the JD(U) and TDP, the Shiv Sena is the third largest ally of the BJP. “Chirag Paswan, whose party won five seats, was also given a cabinet berth. But the Shiv Sena got only one MoS berth. I personally feel that there is partiality against the Shiv Sena. Considering that we will face assembly elections together in the next three months, it is expected that the Sena should get fair treatment,” he said.
Shinde Sena’s Prataprao Jadhav is the sole representative of the party in the Modi 3.0 government. He took oath as an MoS with independent charge on Sunday (June 9). The Sena won seven seats in the recently concluded elections and yet was only allotted an MoS position in the Modi 3.0 government, Barne said. Even leaders like HD Kumaraswamy and Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose parties won two and one seats, were made cabinet ministers, he said.
“We were expecting that the Shiv Sena would get a cabinet ministry, but even parties that won only one seat received cabinet berths. For example, HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S), whose two MPs got elected, secured two berths, and Jitan Ram Manjhi, who won one seat from Bihar, was also given a cabinet berth,” he said, adding that BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale, who won from Satara, deserved a cabinet position as well.
The Sena won seven seats out of the 15 it contested in Maharashtra, whereas the BJP bagged only nine out of the 28 seats it fought from. “We were expecting at least one cabinet and MoS berth each for the Shiv Sena, which is the oldest ally of the BJP,” the MP said.
He said Eknath Shinde’s “bold step” in the state led to the transition of power. “Considering all these factors, we expect a justified stance from the BJP,” he added.
Shinde had split the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and joined the Mahayuti in June 2022 with a bulk of MLAs loyal to him. Subsequently, he took oath as the chief minister.
Maharashtra’s representation in new cabinet
Six MPs from Maharashtra were inducted into the Union Cabinet, with the BJP securing four berths and allies Shiv Sena and RPI (A) getting one each. In the new government, BJP MPs Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal were retained as cabinet ministers. Raksha Khadse, the saffron party’s lone woman MP from the state, and first-time MP Murlidhar Mohol were sworn in as MoS.
Ramdas Athawale, the RPI (A) chief, was retained as an MoS with independent charge, while Prataprao Jadhav was inducted as an MoS with independent charge. The NCP refused the MoS offer, demanding a cabinet berth for Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel due to his experience.
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