BJP, Sena, NCP settle on 22-11-10 Maha split

MUMBAI: Maharashtra's three-party ruling coalition on Wednesday hammered out an agreement for power-sharing, people aware of discussions said, but some disputes lingered as chief minister Devendra Fadnavis flew to Delhi to finalise his council of ministers.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get 22 berths, including home and revenue, the Shiv Sena will get II, including urban development, and the Nationalist Congress Party 10, including finance, said the people cited above. The pact was stitched together at meetings between Fadnavis and his two deputies, Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP chief Ajit Pawar, over the past few days.

The maximum size of the cabinet in Maharashtra is 43. "We are trying to resolve the dispute on the portfolios before the first cabinet expansion," said a BJP leader on condition of anonymity.

But disagreements persisted.

The three allies sought the intervention of central BJP leaders on certain contentious issues, including disputes over certain departments.

Fadnavis and Pawar were in Delhi on Wednesday for a possible meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah, but Shinde was conspicuous by his absence.

His aides said Shinde, who held up government formation after the Mahayuti's landslide victory in assembly elections last month, was upset over being denied the home department and the assembly speaker's position and only being offered urban department. Fadnavis first held a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda and they both then called upon Shah at his residence late in the night. Pawar was not present in this meeting, people aware of the matter said.

Fadnavis is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday morning before heading back to Mumbai.

"In fact, Shinde is quite upset over the way he has been treated in the whole deal. He has to haggle for everything. He feels he has not been given his due share in power though he went all out and contributed significantly in Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra," the aide said, requesting anonymity.