Only one MoS post? Partiality, says Shinde's MP

Shrirang Barne, an MP of Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, on Monday expressed disappointment over the party not getting a cabinet berth in the newly-formed Narendra Modi-led government and alleged partiality.

Shiv Sena Party Leader in Lok Sabha Shrikant Shinde, however, clarified that the party was supporting the government unconditionally and no bargaining or negotiation for power was involved.

Barne, who retained the Maval seat for the third time by defeating Sanjog Waghere Patil of Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, pointed out that despite Shiv Sena winning seven seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the party was only allotted a Minister of State (MoS) position in the Modi 3.0 government.

Barne said even leaders like H D Kumaraswamy and Jitan Ram Manjhi whose parties won two and one seats, respectively, were made Union cabinet ministers.

He mentioned that Udayanraje Bhosale, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Satara, deserved a cabinet position as well.

"We were expecting that Shiv Sena would get a cabinet ministry, but even parties that won only one seat received Cabinet berths. For example, H D Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal-Secular, whose two MPs got elected, secured two berths, and Jitan Ram Manjhi, who won one seat from Bihar, was also given a cabinet berth," Barne told reporters.

Prataprao Jadhav of Shinde Sena was the sole representation in the new Modi government who took oath as a Minister of State with independent charge on Sunday.

Barne added that Shiv Sena had won seven seats in Maharashtra of the 15 contested, whereas BJP bagged nine of 28.

"We were expecting at least one Cabinet and one MoS berth for Shiv Sena which is the oldest ally of BJP," he said.

Alleging partiality in the distribution of Cabinet berths, Barne claimed that after Janata Dal-United and Telugu Desam Party, Shiv Sena is the third largest ally of the BJP.

"Chirag Paswan, whose party won five seats, was also given a Cabinet berth. But Shiv Sena got only one MOS berth. I feel that there is partiality against Shiv Sena. Considering that we will face assembly elections together in the next three months, it is expected that Sena should get fair treatment," he added.

He recalled that Eknath Shinde's 'bold step' in the state led to the transition of power in Maharashtra.

Considering all these factors, we expect a justified stance from the BJP, Barne added.

Shrikant Shinde stated, "We have already made it clear that we are supporting the government unconditionally. This nation has asked and needs the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji. There's no bargaining or negotiation for power.

"We have extended an unconditional support to an ideological coalition. We want Prime Minister Modi to carry forward the noble work of nation-building. The party, all MLAs and MPs are faithfully committed to the NDA," he added.

Eknath Shinde had split Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and joined the BJP-led government in June 2022 with a bulk of MLAs loyal to him. Subsequently, he took oath as the chief minister.

Six MPs from Maharashtra were inducted into the Modi 3.0 coalition government on Sunday, with the BJP securing four berths and allies Shiv Sena and Republican Party India-Athawale getting one each.

In the new government, BJP MPs Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal were retained as cabinet ministers.

Raksha Khadse, BJP's lone woman MP from Maharashtra, and first-time MP Murlidhar Mohol were sworn in as ministers of state.

Among BJP's allies, RPI-A chief Ramdas Athawale was retained as an MoS with independent charge, while Prataprao Jadhav was inducted as an MoS with independent charge.

Notably, the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, a member of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, on Sunday refused to accept the minister of state offer, demanding a cabinet berth for Rajya Sabha member Praful Patel due to his experience.