Pimpri Chinchwad (Maharashtra) [India] June 10 (ANI): After Shiv Sena’s Pratap Jadhav was sworn in as Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the new Narendra Modi government, party MP Shrirang Barne said that they were expecting a Cabinet berth like Hindustani Awam Morcha’s Jitan Ram Manjhi and Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Kumaraswamy.
“Shiv Sena is an old ally of NDA. We have been supporting the Central government and the organization for many years. Yesterday, Shiv Sena got one MoS seat, but I think the party should have got a Cabinet berth. There are many small parties like Majhi and Kumaraswamy. Kumaraswamy has two MPs, Majhi has one MP, Paswan has 5 MPs. We expected that we would be getting Cabinet berth,” Barne said speaking to ANI on Monday.
Barne however cautioned, “This is my own opinion, not the party’s…I have only expressed my opinion, there is no bad blood between our parties. There is no restriction on stating our claim, we have put forward our claim.”
Explaining the reason behind his claim, Barne said, “I thought that instead of giving Minister of State to Pratap Jadhav he should have been given Cabinet berth. It would have been easier for him to work. Since Shiv Sena had been a partner of the BJP for long, I thought that we should be getting a new role.”
The Shiv Sena MP pointed out that this is not a “betrayal” by the Bharatiya Janata Party to its coalition partner.
“This is not a betrayal. We have been a partner of the BJP for many years. If Shiv Sena had got Cabinet berth it would have given a positive message to the people…,” Barne said.
In response to a question by the reporter on whether Shiv Sena will get a Cabinet berth in future, Barne said, “I don’t think that will be possible now. If it happens in future our leader and Chief Minister will be discussing it with the central leadership.”
Shiv Sena party leader Shrikant Shinde however pointed out that their support to the Bharatiya Janata Party is “unconditionally” and there is no “bargaining” or “negotiation” for power.
“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 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,” Shrikant Shinde said.
The BJP dipped to nine seats in Maharashtra against 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The vote share stood at 26.18 per cent. The Congress, on the other hand, marginally improved its seat share by securing 13 seats in the state.
The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won seven and one seats respectively, taking the total tally of the NDA to 17.
The BJP victory tally was much lower than its 2019 tally of 303 and the 282 seats it had won in 2014. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats compared to 52 that it had won in 2019 and 44 seats in 2014. The INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions from exit polls. (ANI)
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