Eknath Shinde Insists On Keeping Home Portfolio As Mahayuti Allies Mull Power Sharing

The Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, reiterated on Friday that its leader has demanded the key home portfolio from the BJP, while discussions among the three Mahayuti allies regarding portfolio distribution continue.

The Mahayuti alliance, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), secured a resounding victory in last month's assembly elections.

Photo Credit: PTI

Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP was sworn in as Chief Minister on Thursday, alongside Shinde and Pawar as Deputy Chief Ministers, 12 days after the results were declared.

"When Fadnavis was the deputy CM (in the previous Shinde-led government), he also held the home department. Now, Saheb has demanded the same arrangement and talks (on portfolio allocation) are in progress," Raigad MLA Bharat Gogavale told news agency PTI.

Gogavale added, "The demand was probably made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah. We hope the talks on portfolios would be over in the next two days."

Reports suggest that Shinde was initially "reluctant" to accept the Deputy Chief Minister role but was persuaded by Sena leaders to take the position. However, he remains insistent on obtaining the home department, which oversees the state police.

In June 2022, Shinde, a prominent Maratha leader from Thane, led a rebellion against then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the head of a unified Shiv Sena. This rebellion caused a split within the party and resulted in the collapse of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Shinde subsequently became Chief Minister with the support of the BJP, formerly an ally of Thackeray.

Fadnavis, a former Chief Minister, was appointed as Shinde's deputy. Ajit Pawar joined the government as an additional deputy CM in July 2023.