Eleven days after the electorate voted the Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress party (NCP) back to power, the two parties are no where near formation of their third government in Maharashtra.
The allies are quarrelling on the formula for sharing for power – the Congress wants the ministries of home, and finance in particular, which are hitherto with the NCP under an agreement hammered a decade ago when the two parties closed ranks for the first time. The NCP is unwilling to give up these two portfolios.
The Governor, S. C Jamir on Tuesday summoned caretaker Chief Minister Ashok Chavan of the Congress and the deputy chief minister designate Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP; he is understood to have bluntly told them to quickly put their act. Otherwise one of the options before him is suspend the assembly and take over the administration directly till the politicians strike a deal - such a suggestion has come from the BJP-Shiv Sena combine to the discomfiture of the Congress.
Bhujbal told the governor that his party would be ready to offer outside support to the new government till the portfolio issue is resolved. The offer is seen as a pressure tactic since that it will make the NCP free to explore options of a tie-up with opposition Shiv Sena and BJP.
Bhujbal in Mumbai and his party senior Prafulla Patel in Delhi told reporters that the deadlock would be over in a day or two. ‘The talks between the two parties at the highest level are on formally and informally. The NCP has not put on the table any new issues’, Patel said and added he didn’t see any reason for worry ( over government formation).
Bhujbal agreed that the people of Maharashtra wanted the new government be formed immediately but said the initiative should come from the Congress. ‘Congress should take the initiative to form the government. We are ready to give them support from outside but will join the ministry with honour after portfolio sharing issues is resolved’.
The Assembly results were announced on October 22; the new assembly was constituted formally the very next day.
-Asian Tribune -
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