Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat and Manikrao Thakre stepping out of Hotel Trident in Bandra-Kurla Complex where they had meeting with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. (Satish Bate/HT file photo)

Over three days after the Uddhav Thackeray-led government expanded its cabinet by inducting 36 ministers, the portfolios haven’t been allocated over a widely-reported tug-of-war between the three parties to get plum portfolios. On Thursday, the Shiv Sena confirmed that there is disquiet among Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies and drew solace from the fact that a ‘strong and experienced’ cabinet has been put in place.

The Shiv Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, said there was a tussle between senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan and Maharashtra Congress president Balasaheb Thorat over the revenue portfolio.

“There is smoke rising within the Congress over the portfolio distribution. Former chief minister Ashok Chavan is in the cabinet, and he has to be given a respectable portfolio. The portfolio that could match his experience is revenue [department]. But Congress’ Balasaheb Thorat currently has the portfolio. It will have to be seen what is being decided on the issue,” the editorial said.

The Sena also said that there is discontent among leaders of the three parties after being left out of cabinet expansion. It added that discontentment is always seen after expansion by any government. The Sena slammed opposition (BJP), which is ‘bubbling’ with happiness after resentment in MVA alliance and added even the previous Devendra Fadnavis-government wasn’t any exception to discontentment after cabinet expansion.

The editorial in the Marathi daily also took a dim view of the violence by supporters of Congress leader Sangram Thopte, who did not become a minister. In a jab at the Congress, the editorial read, “The Congress used to call Shiv Sena’s protests as ‘rada culture’ (hooliganism), but what Thopte’s alleged supporters did was exactly the same, it said. This does not suit the Congress culture.”

The Sena also came to the rescue of party president Uddhav Thackeray after many senior Sena leaders openly expressed their displeasure over being left out of his council of ministers.

Sena MLA Bhaskar Jadhav had told the media that Thackeray did not keep his word of inducting him as a minister that was given to him when he crossed over from the NCP to Sena before state polls.

“Jadhav claimed Thackeray promised to make him Cabinet minister. As per our information, no such promise was made to him. Thackeray must have asked him to join the Sena ahead of the Assembly polls and be part of the government,” it said.