Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis outside the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has appealed to the Shiv Sena and the Congress to withdraw their candidature for the post of Assembly Speaker, said sources, amid a reported standstill in the negotiations between his party BJP and the Sena over power-sharing in the state.
Mr Fadnavis reportedly made the appeal during a meeting with Shiv Sena leader and Member of Legislative Council Ramdas Kadam.
The Shiv Sena, which staked claim to the post of leader of opposition on Monday, had earlier decided to challenge the BJP for the post of Speaker. The legislators met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at 'Shivalaya', the party's office in Nariman Point in south Mumbai, today for further discussions on the issue.
The party's legislators created a ruckus in the state assembly today, over their demand that the deadline for filing nominations for the Speaker's post be extended till later.
A top Shiv Sena leader had told NDTV on Monday that despite the tough public posturing of the Shiv Sena since Sunday, the two parties were engaged in intense behind-the-scenes negotiations and that differences remained only over the portfolios that the Sena would get in return for its support to the BJP, which is the single largest party, but is 22 short of the majority needed to form government.
The BJP has apparently agreed to give a total of 12 ministerial berths to the Shiv Sena; six with cabinet rank, and six ministers of state. The Shiv Sena is reportedly also agreeable to the BJP's suggestion that six Sena ministers could be sworn in now and six later.
But its demands for at least one high-ranking cabinet portfolio - either Deputy Chief Ministership, Home or Revenue - was rejected by the BJP, which is reportedly willing to concede less high-profile portfolios like Energy, Food and Civil Supplies, Irrigation and Health.
Mr Fadnavis faces a trust vote on Wednesday that he must win to remain Chief Minister. Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party or NCP on Monday reiterated its offer of external support, which is enough for the BJP to sail through the floor test without the Sena.
Uddhav Thackeray has made it clear that they will not back the BJP if it accepts the NCP's support in any form.
The Shiv Sena is the second largest party in the assembly with 63 legislators, the Congress has 42, the NCP has 41 in the 288-member assembly. The rest are Independents or smaller parties.