Uddhav Thackeray's Balancing Act In Maharashtra

Mumbai: The task of portfolio distribution in the Shiv Sena led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government seems to have left Uddhav Thackeray' party at the receiving end with the NCP getting a better deal. The Congress too, for its strength, has managed to get a good bargain. In the end, it is the Shiv Sena which appears more toothless to analysts, though it heads the government.

Maharashtra's new Deputy chief Minister and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar landed the finance and planning portfolio. Senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh has become Maharashtra's new home Minister, while Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat got the revenue Ministry.

Former chief minister from the Congress party Ashok Chavan was given the PWD portfolio excluding Public Undertakings. The allocation of portfolios has shown that it is the NCP which got all the 'plum' ministries as they are commonly referred to and this has led to some discontent in the Congress, media reports say. Several Congressmen feel that they got a raw deal and that NCP walked away with a better bargain.

Uddhav Thackeray has to contend with constant sniping from the BJP, his former ally and the ruling party at the Centre and carry out a delicate balancing act trying to quell discontent over portfolio distribution. For a leader with little administrative experience, it is by no means an easy task. The upcoming Zilla parishad elections will prove to be an acid test of Uddhav Thackeray's leadership as the Shiv Sena ventures out for the first time as an ally of Congress and NCP.