Despite uncertainty over the next Maharashtra chief minister and whether the Shiv Sena led by caretaker CM Eknath Shinde will be part of the new government, the BJP’s central parliamentary board on Monday appointed Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani to conduct the meeting to choose the BJP’s legislative party leader.According to the BJP, the legislative party leader will be chosen on December 4 and an oath taking ceremony has been scheduled on December 5 at 5.00 pm at Azad Maidan in Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Sources in the Shiv Sena said that Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis were expected to meet in Mumbai and later fly to Delhi to meet the top leadership of the BJP to finalise the power sharing formula and seal the name of the CM. However, no such meeting has taken place yet in Mumbai or Delhi.Shinde, who earlier recuperated after coming back from his native village Daregaon in Satara district, again fell sick with a throat infection. He reportedly did not meet his party leaders as well at his Thane residence on Monday.Meanwhile, a Shiv Sena leader who requested anonymity said it was unfair on the BJP’s part not to share key portfolios. “If the BJP is not able to give the chief minister post to the Shiv Sena because it has emerged as the single largest party and close to the majority mark of 145, then it should at least concede key portfolios like finance and home to the Sena as an honorable power sharing deal. Ajit Pawar has been promised the finance ministry even though he has only 41 MLAs but the BJP is reluctant to give the home ministry to the Sena even though it has 57 MLAs. This is completely unfair. The BJP is pushing the Sena out of power either by giving negligible portfolios or ignoring our legitimate demands,” he said.
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