Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray with NCP chief Sharad Pawar (PTI photo)

MUMBAI: A day after CM Uddhav Thackeray allotted portfolios to his ministers, discontent brewed among Congress members over "the raw deal" meted out to them. A section of NCP ministers too are unhappy at being "sidelined".

"Congress has emerged as the biggest loser. It appears that Congress has surrendered before NCP. We never insisted on key portfolios, except for revenue. We accepted the departments offered by NCP and Shiv Sena," a senior Congress politician said. An NCP minister said portfolio allocation was decided after a series of meetings with Thackeray, Congress state president Balasaheb Thorat and NCP president Jayant Patil . "The negotiations were transparent, the senior leaders of all three parties were directly involved. There is no point in crying over spilt milk now," the minister said.

The Congress politician said NCP has secured all key portfolios, including home, finance and planning, among others. "As per the original proposal, home was allocated to Sena. But during negotiations, NCP succeeded in securing it. It's the power of the NCP leadership," he said.

"In the departments allotted to Congress, only revenue and public works are significant," he said, pointing out that senior Congress leaders, including Thorat, AICC general secretary Mallikarjun Kharge and former CM Ashok Chavan, failed to secure plum posts for Congress. "The Congress high command was insisting on departments associated with rural areas," he said.

"When we were negotiating for departments, it was proposed that either home or the dy CM post should be given to Congress. Both proposals were rejected, with our leaders being silent spectators," the Congress politican said.

However, within NCP too, things don't seem hunky-dory. Former deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal has been given the insignificant food and civil supplies department, while Nawab Malik , the face of NCP in Mumbai, has been given the minority welfare and skill development.



In Video: Maharashtra cabinet: NCP's Ajit Pawar gets Finance, Anil Deshmukh gets Home