The much-awaited expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet continues to be shrouded in suspense, more than ten days after Ajit Pawar, a rebel leader from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), took oath as the deputy Chief Minister. The delay primarily stems from an ongoing deadlock between the ruling allies: the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the rebel NCP faction. Pawar is insisting on plum portfolios — including Irrigation, Energy, Rural Development, Finance, and Excise, among others — for himself and eight of his NCP ministers, while the Chief Minister, Shinde, and his BJP deputy, Devendra Fadnavis, reiterate their stance of not giving away certain portfolios.
Jostling for portfolios.