BJP members had thought that with a single-party government, they could claim chief posts in state corporations, but the leadership has reserved appointments in case Sena decides to join govt
BJP leaders who had set their eyes on top posts such as chairman, president, director and so on in various state authorities and corporations are in for a spot of disappointment, because their party leadership, in a bid to accommodate the Shiv Sena, has now put political appointments on hold.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis yesterday announced that he had had a word with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray earlier about the possibility of his party’s joining the government. File pic/PTI
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Party members were expecting that the appointments would be made immediately after the cabinet expansion, scheduled in the first week of December before the winter session starts on December 8. However, the BJP wants to rope in the Shiv Sena and stabilise its government before finalising appointments to state-governed bodies such as CIDCO, MHADA and so on.
Avadhut Wagh, spokesperson for the state BJP, said, “Cancellation of political appointments in various corporations is a normal phenomenon once a new government is formed. Reappointments will be done only after the cabinet expansion. Neither the party nor the government is in a hurry.”
According to BJP leaders, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced at an event in the city on Thursday that he had had a word with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray over the phone about the prospect of the two parties coming together again, and starting today BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil and Dharmendra Pradhan will start a dialogue with Sena to pursue this possibility.
They also said that Fadnavis claimed he wanted the Sena to be part of the state government. This has upset the applecart for a cross-section of BJP members, as they had hoped that with a single-party government, BJP leaders would be able to stake claim to desirable posts in all the corporations.
“Though there’s no formal talk from the party, we are all aware that only after the Shiv Sena takes a decision and the government in Maharashtra becomes stable would any decision be taken regarding appointments to the boards.
Earlier we were under the impression that immediately after the cabinet expansion, BJP would put its leaders in the corporations,” said a leader, hopeful of being appointed as chairman of one of the state bodies.
The government started sacking political appointees instated by the previous Congress-NCP government since Wednesday, which had evoked hopes among senior party members that they would soon get their appointment letters.
But with BJP trying to get Sena on board, the hopes have turned vague. “It’s natural that if the Sena is going to join us, they will get some corporations and boards. Thus, no appointment will be made now,” said another leader.
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