Following the discontent expressed by the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP on being overlooked for Modi's cabinet, the Eknath Shinde faction's Shiv Sena has also articulated its displeasure. Party's chief whip Srikanth Barne mentioned that while parties like Chirag Paswan's LJP, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and H.D. Kumaraswamy's JD(S) were granted cabinet ministries despite having fewer seats, his party with seven MPs only received a Minister of State with independent charge.
Srikanth Barne stated, "We were expecting cabinet positions. Despite Chirag Paswan having five MPs, Manjhi one, and JD(S) two, they received cabinet ministries. Why did Shiv Sena only obtain a solitary Minister of State role, despite winning 7 Lok Sabha seats?"
Shiv Sena deserves a cabinet minister's role, asserts Srikanth Barne
Emphasizing the party's success, Shiv Sena's chief whip pointed out, "Given our strike rate, we should have been accorded a cabinet ministry role." Furthermore, Barne widely shared his dissatisfaction concerning this overlooked opportunity.
Read More: BJP secures 25 cabinet positions compared to its allies' five in the NDA government, discover which party received what.
Barne further questioned why, despite other NDA allies having only one elected MP, they were assigned cabinet ministries, whereas the Shinde faction was treated differently by the BJP.
Shiv Sena's MP suggested that if things were to be fair, Ajit Pawar, who joined the grand alliance opposing his own family, should have been offered a ministry. Additionally, BJP should have provided the ministry to its MP from Satara, Udayanraje Bhosale.
The Ajit faction of NCP also displeased
Prior to the anger from the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena, the Ajit faction of the NCP also expressed discontent after being passed over for a ministerial post. Party leader Praful Patel remarked, "...we were informed the night before the swearing-in that our party was to receive a Minister of State with independent charge. I have previously served as a Cabinet Minister, so this would have been a demotion for me. We have informed the BJP leadership and they asked us to wait a few days, as corrective measures would be taken."
What did the NDA allies receive?
In the 2024 general elections in Maharashtra, BJP ran alongside the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the Ajit faction of NCP. For instance, BJP competed in 31 seats and won 9, the Ajit faction's NCP in 4 seats and won 1, and the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena in 13 seats and clinched 7 victories.
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On the other hand, Chirag Paswan's party won in five constituencies and he was awarded a cabinet ministry, Jitan Ram Manjhi secured his single constituency win a cabinet role, and JD(S) with two seats saw H.D. Kumaraswamy attaining cabinet stature. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena's Prataprao Jadhav was accorded the Minister of State with independent charge role, leaving the party unsatisfied.
When a coup unfolded in Maharashtra
It is noteworthy that in a political coup, Eknath Shinde, along with a host of Shiv Sena legislators, joined the NDA alliance. Subsequently, they laid claim over the party and the electoral symbol. After courtroom dramas, Shinde's faction was declared the rightful claimant of Shiv Sena. Later, Ajit Pawar, along with over a dozen legislators, joined the BJP-led NDA and also vied for the party and its electoral symbol, with control eventually going to Ajit Pawar.
