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MUMBAI: Even as newly elected Shiv Sena MPs urged Kalyan MP and CM Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde to take up a ministerial position at the centre, Shrikant said that the ultimate decision (about cabinet berths) will be taken on merit by CM Eknath Shinde. Shrikant said that CM Shinde always takes decisions on merit and will nominate MPs who have experience and have worked for the party.Shrikant said that he was not interested in becoming a minister and instead wanted to work for the party organisation at the grassroots level.
“I want to see how the party can grow. In the Lok Sabha polls, in just two years since the party split, we have got very good results in Mumbai also and outside Mumbai also. Out of the 19% Shiv Sena vote share, we have got 14.5% vote share. People have shown faith in us and those who left Balasaheb’s ideology got only 4.5% vote share. In the days to come, even this vote share will come to us in the assembly polls,” Shrikant said.
Shinde led Sena Shrikant as its group leader in the Lok Sabha and Maval MP Shrirang Barne as the party’s Chief Whip. CM Shinde is likely to nominate MP Barne and Prataprao Jadhav (Buldhana) for cabinet and Minister of State (MoS) berths at the centre. Senior Sena functionaries said that Barne was a front runner if the party gets only one berth in the union cabinet adding that CM Shinde was not hard bargaining with the BJP for any portfolios nor demanding any specific departments. There was speculation that CM Shinde could pick his son third time MP Dr Shinde for a ministerial berth but the functionary said that Shrikant would not be the choice. CM Shinde met his newly elected MPs at Varsha, his official residence where possible names for cabinet berths were discussed on Thursday. The MPs left the final decision of choosing a ministerial nominee for CM Shinde. The Sena is likely to get one cabinet berth and one Minister of State (MoS). In the outgoing PM Narendra Modi led govt, the Sena led by Shinde didn’t have any minister.
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