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Deshmukh begins talks on portfolio distribution
New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh met his ruling Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh here as he struggled with portfolio distribution among his coalition allies. Deshmukh, a powerful politician of the Congress, was elected as the legislative party leader amid high drama last week enroute to formally becoming the new chief of the giant state, ending nearly two weeks of political vacuum in the province.
Maharashtra was without an effective government since October 16 when
the Congress-NCP alliance won elections defeating the opposition Hindu
nationalists. The two parties haggled for the chief minister's post until
they hammered out a deal on Wednesday. Under the plan, the Congress got
to keep the top post while NCP got extra ministerial berths. The party
now has only 18 berths left for its own legislators and could lead to
serious internal dissidence. "There has been no decision as yet. I will
call you and tell you about the developments," Deskhmukh told reporters
after meeting Gandhi. Along with Deshmukh, senior NCP leader R.R.Patil
also had taken oath as the Deputy Chief. Minister on Monday. Patil was
the state interior minister in the previous coalition government. |
