Stage set for Maha CM's swearing-in

Mumbai: The stage is all set for the grand swearing-in ceremony of the new Mahayuti dispensation in Maharashtra on Thursday.

At the same time, BJP’s key allies Shiv Sena and NCP seem to be engaging in competition against each other for more berths and important portfolios in the council-of-ministers.

Caretaker CM Eknath Shinde, who was discharged from the hospital late on Tuesday, was back in action and reached Varsha Bungalow--the official bungalow of the CM--in what was also seen as a reconciliatory note.

Hours after Shinde returned from the hospital, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis visited Shinde's official residence `Varsha' in the evening. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders after the duo, along with NCP chief Ajit Pawar, met the top BJP leadership in Delhi last week.

The Shinde-Fadnavis meeting is being seen as an outreach by the BJP to placate an ally who will likely be removed from the top post despite leading a government that was re-elected. On the other hand, NCP president Ajit Pawar, who is tipped to be the Deputy CM and likely to get the Finance portfolio, was in New Delhi for discussions with the BJP high-command.

Meanwhile, preparations are in full swing for the ceremony, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, about 2,000 VVIPs and some 40,000 supporters.

Meanwhile, BJP’s newly elected MLAs are meeting with ‘observers’ from the central leadership Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and ex-Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to choose a legislature party leader, who will then become the new Chief Minister.

The BJP Legislature Party will meet at Vidhan Bhawan on Wednesday morning to elect its leader. But there were indications that distribution of portfolios among the three allies might not be a smooth process.

Sena leaders on Monday said that as per the “convention” of alliance politics, their party should get the Home portfolio if the CM post went to the BJP.