Devendra Fadnavis likely to be sworn-in on November 2 or 3

Mumbai: Even as the Shiv Sena is mounting pressure on the Bharatiya Janata Party to share the Chief Minister’s post for 2.5 years each, the later has started preparations for Devendra Fadnavis’s swearing-in ceremony. A senior party leader on Saturday informed that Fadnavis is likely to be sworn-in as the Chief Minister for the second time on November 2 or 3 at Wankhede stadium.

The senior BJP leader said, “The swearing-in ceremony of the new government is likely to be completed by November 3. Meanwhile, the discussion over sharing of portfolios would be held with Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.”

Interestingly, the BJP leader added that the party had earlier planned to hold the swearing ceremony at Mahalakshmi Race Course — if it had managed to get a majority on its own.

With the BJP short of 40 seats to form the government, it will have to take the Shiv Sena on board. The Amit Shah-led party won 105 seats, while its ally, the Shiv Sena, won 56 seats in the recently-concluded election.

With the BJP registering a below-par performance in the polls, the Sena is reportedly playing hardball and is batting for a 50-50 formula (rotational chief ministership and meatier portfolios).

“A team of senior state BJP leaders including Sudhir Mungatiwar, Chandrakant Patil, would accompany Amit Shah for the meeting with the Sena chief. However, only Shah will speak with Mr Thackeray,” the BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the BJP has also called for a legislative party meeting at the Vidhan Bhavan on October 30, to elect its leader in the new legislative Assembly.

Fadnavis would be elected as the BJP legislative party leader in the meeting before the party observer, who would be sent by the Delhi leadership.

The BJP leader added that this will be a mere formality since PM Narendra Modi and the party president had already declared Fadnavis as the BJP’s chief ministerial face during the polls.

Sources said that the BJP has been holding internal discussions to deter the Sena from being allocated the home, revenue and finance portfolios.

The Sena, sources said, is drafting its charter of demands keeping in mind the portfolio distribution exercise undertaken in 1995.

In the first saffron government, the BJP, then a junior partner in the government, had been allocated home, water resources, rural development, civil supplies, public health, transport, public works, finance and planning but not revenue and urban development.

In the present dispensation, the chief minister has kept several important portfolios such as the home department with himself. However, a junior minister in the home department represents the Sena — Deepak Kesarkar.