While chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has refused to expand his cabinet before the trust vote to accommodate estranged ally Shiv Sena, Sena has taken a "wait and watch" line.
Sena, the second largest party in the state legislative assembly, has also called for a meeting of its MLAs on Sunday, where a decision on whether the party should join the government or sit in opposition is likely to be taken.
Party leaders expect that BJP will join hands with them rather than risk the longevity of their minority government in a fractured house. Though NCP has offered unconditional support to BJP to help it sail through in the trust vote, BJP leaders admit this support may not be pro bono and come with strings attached, namely, watering down cases of alleged graft against NCP leaders.
Sena MLA and spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said party president Uddhav Thackeray would take a decision at the right time and urged a "wait and watch" policy. Meanwhile, Sena MP from Ratnagiri- Sindhudurg and party secretary Vinayak Raut, who had defeated former industries minister Narayan Rane's son and then Congress MP Nilesh, said Sena "will not move around with a begging bowl for power".
Sena is insisting on the deputy chief minister's post and around 15 ministerial berths, including prominent ones. However, with "prime" portfolios revenue, home, finance, forests and education, already distributed among BJP ministers or retained by Fadnavis, Sena may have little elbow room in bargaining.
Sena and BJP, which saw their 25-year-long alliance come apart just before the assembly polls, had fought a bitter battle of words during the campaign.
Sena insiders admit there is a vertical split in the party over joining a BJP-led government. While some legislators and leaders are eager to become ministers, many activists want the party to sit in the opposition and claim the opposition space from Congress and NCP, which are finding themselves at their lowest political ebb. They are also upset at Sena's "humiliation" by its former junior ally.
If Sena cannot occupy the treasury benches, the country will see a first of its kind situation with two Hindutva parties at daggers drawn — one in the government and the other as the principal opposition.
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