Shiv Sena, Anil Desai skip swearing-in: Will Uddhav now sit in oppn in Maha?

The riff between BJP and Shiv Sena just got wider with the latter playing hardball as Sena MP Anil Desai failed to take oath as Union Minister amid talk that Uddhav Thackeray will pull the party out of the government at the Centre and play Opposition in Maharashtra. While Shiv Sena was insisting that two party leaders get cabinet berths at the centre, the Modi government only handed over a cabinet position to Suresh Pradhu, technically a member of the Sena but seen as closer to the Prime Minister’s party, while  Sena’s nominee Anil Desai was offered only a junior minister’s position.  Clearly,  Thackeray’s reported objections to  Prabhu’s promotion were ignored by the BJP. According to an NDTV report,  Prabhu’s spot in the cabinet is not  considered  a part of the “quota” it is entitled to as a member of the Prime Minister’s coalition government. Times of India  too had earlier reported that “the Sena is not keen on Prabhu’s induction on the ground that after his defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, he has been distancing himself from the party.” Times of India q uoted a senior BJP leader as saying, “It’s a fact that Amit Shah spoke to Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday and offered two berths but it is conditional. One cabinet member will be nominated by the Shiv Sena but the other member will be Suresh Prabhu, who will be the PM’s choice, but will be the Sena’s nominee.” [caption id=“attachment_1794491” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] Desai was today reportedly asked  to return from the Delhi airport because the Sena was unhappy with BJP’s offer of MoS rank for him. PTI too said that because of a last minute hitch Desai could not take oath as MoS. Firstpost’s Vishwas Waghmode had pointed out in an article earlier in the day that the Sena “has made it clear that unless the BJP spells out the Sena’s role in the Maharashtra government, Desai will not take oath on Sunday afternoon.” Meanwhile, Senior Sena MP Anandrao Adsul said in Mumbai minutes before the oath taking ceremony that the party has decided against going ahead with Desai’s inclusion in Modi’s cabinet. While the Sena has been demanding the deputy chief minister’s post in Maharashtra along with at least 10 ministries, the BJP is willing to part with only eight ministries and is not willing to allot the deputy CM’s post. The BJP has also rejected the second Sena formula that gave the latter 12 ministries in the absence of the deputy CM’s post. But Sena leaders reiterated that their inclusion in the union cabinet must not be misconstrued as an indication of it being ready to relent to BJP in Maharashtra. BJP leaders maintained that the state cabinet would not be expanded to accommodate the Sena before the trust vote on 12 November. Now with no compliance from the BJP either at the state or at the Centre, reports suggest that Uddhav will hold a meeting on Sunday evening and is most likely to not give support to the BJP in Maharashtra.Thackeray could direct Anant Geete, party’s lone representative in the Narendra Modi Cabinet, to resign. Thackeray’s meeting in Mumbai this evening is significant as party legislators are attending it on the eve of the Maharashtra Assembly session in which the BJP government will seek trust vote. Sena sources have already cautioned the BJP that if it is going to align with Sharad Pawar’s NCP for the trust vote in Maharashtra, then Sena is free to take its own decision. Shiv Sena has been the oldest ideological ally of the BJP in the NDA but their 25-year-old alliance in Maharashtra collapsed ahead of the recent assembly polls over seat-sharing issue.