The Sena is miffed at being offered a minister of state portfolio. Also, there are indications that staying away from the expansion may help the party keep competing demands from within its ranks under check.
Indicating that differences between the ruling Maharashtra partners continue to simmer despite attempts for a reconciliation, Shiv Sena may stay away from the Modi cabinet expansion on Tuesday.
The Sena is miffed at being offered a minister of state portfolio. Also, there are indications that staying away from the expansion may help the party keep competing demands from within its ranks under check.
Speaking on Monday, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said "the Shiv Sena had not gone to anyone to seek anything," and added that they had earlier conveyed their displeasure at being offered a minister of state berth instead of a cabinet rank.
"An important issue is that of self-respect. The Shiv Sena and Shiv Sainiks will never go down helplessly or knock on others' doors. It is a matter of right, we will not take alms from others," he said.
In November 2014, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai, whose name was also in the reckoning for Tuesday's expansion, had to fly back to Mumbai from Delhi skipping the expansion as the Sena was unable to finalise its post-assembly election power-sharing pact with the BJP in Maharashtra.
"There has been no call from the BJP leadership," said a senior Sena leader, complaining that the BJP did not want to take NDA constituents into confidence.
"It (Sena's decision to stay away from the swearing-in) can be called a boycott only if we were invited and did not attend," he said, adding that Uddhav would decide on whether the party would fill its two vacancies in the Devendra Fadnavis led government in Maharashtra. The names of Shiv Sena legislators Gulabrao Patil and Arjun Khotkar are doing the rounds for inclusion in the Maharashtra government as ministers of state though the Sena is seeking at least one cabinet berth.
"This is a BJP expansion and not an NDA expansion. No NDA constituents like the Akali Dal or TDP have been included in it. Even Ramdas Athavale has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from the BJP quota," averred another Sena leader, adding that the party, however, was likely to join the expansion of the Fadnavis cabinet.
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