Allies demand ministerial berths, say BJP went back on its word
Republican Party of India (RPI), Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP), Swabhimani Shetkari and Shiv Sangram held a meeting on Saturday, wherein they accused ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of going back on their word and not giving them any share in power in the state or the Centre.
Swabhimani Mahadev Jankar of RSP, Vinayak Mete of Shiv Sangram and Ramdas Athavale of RPI (A) and Raju Shetti of Swabhimani Shetkari Saghtana met at MIG Club in Bandra and raised slogans against BJP.
Later in the afternoon, Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde called Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha and said the CM had called them in for a discussion. At that meet, Athavale asked for ministerial berths for all party heads. Reportedly, the CM said that he will accommodate the allies in the reshuffle and expansion, which will happen in June.
The leaders said that all allies, including Shiv Sena, were united in fighting the general elections, but in the assembly polls, Shiv Sena was left alone. This increased BJP’s strike rate and helped them score better in the assembly, they said.
Athawale said, “BJP succeeded because all the allies joined hands. Sena would have got 50 more seats had this not happened. BJP should honour its commitment. Else, we will have to rethink our decision. We are not with the Devendra Fadnavis government just for power, but they should also realise that they got the power only because of us. Allies must get 10 per cent share in power.” RPI spokesperson Mayur Borkar said BJP had promised the allies 10 per cent power in writing.
Raju Shetti said the allies joined hands because of late Gopinath Munde’s leadership. “Now he is not here and we are being sidetracked. Everyone in BJP is shrugging off their responsibility,” he added.
Swabhimani Mahadev Jankar of RSP, Vinayak Mete of Shiv Sangram and Ramdas Athavale of RPI (A) and Raju Shetti of Swabhimani Shetkari Saghtana met at MIG Club in Bandra and raised slogans against BJP.
Later in the afternoon, Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde called Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha and said the CM had called them in for a discussion. At that meet, Athavale asked for ministerial berths for all party heads. Reportedly, the CM said that he will accommodate the allies in the reshuffle and expansion, which will happen in June.
Fadnavis also told the protesting leaders that he will have a coordination committee meet of all the allies after he returns from China.
The leaders said that all allies, including Shiv Sena, were united in fighting the general elections, but in the assembly polls, Shiv Sena was left alone. This increased BJP’s strike rate and helped them score better in the assembly, they said.
Athawale said, “BJP succeeded because all the allies joined hands. Sena would have got 50 more seats had this not happened. BJP should honour its commitment. Else, we will have to rethink our decision. We are not with the Devendra Fadnavis government just for power, but they should also realise that they got the power only because of us. Allies must get 10 per cent share in power.” RPI spokesperson Mayur Borkar said BJP had promised the allies 10 per cent power in writing.
Raju Shetti said the allies joined hands because of late Gopinath Munde’s leadership. “Now he is not here and we are being sidetracked. Everyone in BJP is shrugging off their responsibility,” he added.
