Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde may choose senior party MPs for ministerial berth in the third NDA Cabinet instead of his son Shrikant Shinde, said reports.
Shinde-led Shiv Sena won seven out of 15 seats it contested in Maharashtra, making the party the third coalition partner in the NDA government. Shrikanth won from Kalyan constituency with a vote margin of 209,144.
Shiv Sena sources told ANI that Shinde may pick other senior leaders and not his son as he believes in meritocracy rather than family connections. Shiv Sena might ask for one Cabinet berth in the new government. The party, however, may not insist on any particular portfolio. The names of Srirang Barne (Maval) and Prataprao Jadhav (Buldhana) are doing the rounds.
Shinde, during a party convention held in Kohlapur, had spoken about how" the son of a king won't necessarily be a king". "Anyone who works should be a king," Shinde had said.
"Following the ethos of the late Balasaheb Thackeray, who treated his colleagues as equals, the Shiv Sena party continues to uphold these ideals. The Chief Minister's preference for meritocracy over nepotism underscores the party's commitment to rewarding hardworking leaders within its ranks," a senior leader told ANI.
Meanwhile, Srirang Barne emphasised his seniority and eligibility for the post as the race got hotter. "I was first or second rank among all 543 MPs based on my performance in the last two terms. CM Eknath Shinde will take a final decision based on how many ministries our party get," Barne told The Times of India. He added that he was the senior-most MP from Western Maharashtra in the Parliament.
"I worked for committees of defence, finance and urban development ministries in the standing committee meetings and I was also part of the parliament committee," he said.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Jayant Patil on Thursday dismissed speculations that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will not switch to the ruling BJP-led NDA.
Patil's statement comes as Uddhav Thackeray chose to skip the INDIA bloc meeting held in Delhi on Wednesday. Sanjay Raut MP represented the party at the meeting. "There is no chance that he will switch sides," Patil added.