Maharashtra: NCP to get deputy CM post; Speaker to be from Congress

Mumbai, Nov 27: The Nationalist Congress Party will get deputy chief minister's post in the new Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government, NCP leader Praful Patel said here on Wednesday night.

The Congress will get Assembly Speaker's post while the NCP will get deputy Speaker's post, Patel told reporters after a meeting of the the Maha Vikas Aghadi' of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress here. He also said that alongwith Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who will be sworn in as chief minister on Thursday evening, one or two members of each of the three parties will take oath as ministers. There will be only one deputy CM's post in the government, he added.

Earlier, sources had said that both the Shiv Sena and NCP will have 15 ministerial berths each, while the Congress will get 13 berths. Maharashtra can have a maximum of 43 ministers as the size of council of ministers can not exceed 15 per cent of the total number of MLAs, which is 288 in the state. The Shiv Sena has 56 MLAs, NCP 54 and Congress 44.

Leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi met on Wednesday at the YB Chavan Centre in south Mumbai. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Congress veteran Ahmed Patel were among the leaders who held talks over council of ministers and the swearing-in ceremony, to be held at the Shivaji Park in Dadar on Thursday evening. Congress general secretary in-charge for Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge joined the leaders later.