Mumbai: The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are still haggling over sharing ministerial portfolios a week after their alliance was voted back to power in Maharashtra.
Sources tell CNN-IBN the Congress wants to retain the Home Ministry and is willing to part with the Power and Public Works Department Ministries to the NCP. The Congress is asking for the Home Ministry, but the NCP doesn’t want to part with the portfolio.
In 1999 and 2004, when the two parties entered into an alliance, the home ministry remained with the NCP, while the chief minister's post was with the Congress.
The NCP has warned that it would extend only "outside support" if the bigger coalition partner Congress goes doesn’t give it the Home Ministry, sources said.
The two parties are also fighting over the Finance portfolio and a decision on all their disagreements is likely to be resolved on Thursday
Leaders of both parties are meeting in Delhi to resolve their disagreements. The parties have reached a 22-20 formula, according to which the Congress will get 22 ministries and the NCP 20. Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, a Congress leader, his deputy Chhaggan Bhujbal and eight ministers will be sworn in on Friday.
The NCP wants to hold on to the 1999 formula, under which it got the Home, Finance, PWD and Power portfolios. But an aggressive Congress is determined to break the 1999 formula and ask for important portfolios like finance, saying it has performed better than its ally in these elections, while NCP is on a downslide.
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