Both NCP and Congress are awaiting the outcome of the formal meeting between Chavan and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to resolve the differences in the next two days.
Even as chief minister Prithviraj Chavan started the process of shortlisting the Congress candidates in the cabinet on Saturday, its ally NCP has demanded a quota of 22 ministers, two more than last time, out of the total 43 ministers.
Both sides are awaiting the outcome of the formal meeting between Chavan and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to resolve the differences in the next two days.
Both the parties are confronted with in-house problems as their top leadership engages in intense lobbying to push their candidates in the cabinet. Top-rung Congress leaders have decided to spend the weekend in Delhi to ensure they have adequate say in tailoring the new cabinet.
Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Union minister for heavy industries Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union minister for technology and communications Gurudas Kamat, Union minister for social justice Mukul Wasnik et al are working behind the doors to ensure candidates from their region are not given a raw deal.
Insiders indicated that senior leader Patangrao Kadam, whose wings were clipped in the last government as he was given the forest ministry, is trying hard for a betterment option.
The mood in the party is to divest some seniors of the cabinet berth and utilise their service for organisation building. However, it is almost a certainty that Narayan Rane, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Balasaheb Thorat will be retained.
Insiders indicated that controversial minister of state Ramesh Bagwe may be dropped. A section within the Congress feels there are chances of Rajit Kamble and Vijay Wadettiwar also being dropped to accommodate new faces from the Vidarbha region.
As Chavan and Pawar both hail from western Maharashtra, there is growing demand to enforce regional balance by giving more cabinet berths to candidates from Vidarbha and Marathwada.
Chavan has maintained, “Social and regional balance will be considered in the formation of the cabinet.”
A similar assurance was given by Pawar. He said, “The NCP will strike a power balance, region and caste wise.”
The scenario in the NCP is no different from that in the Congress. Although they claim they have the list of ministers ready, the tussle for portfolios remains unresolved. There is growing pressure from within the party that home ministry should be handled by Ajit Pawar to streamline the police department and bureaucracy.
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