Mumbai: Burying the bitterness of the recent past, the opposition Shiv Sena has decided to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced here yesterday.
The state cabinet will be expanded today to include 10 Shiv Sena ministers, he said.
This is the first instance in Maharashtra where an opposition party has joined the ruling party in an alliance government.
According to the new arrangement, the Shiv Sena will get five berths of cabinet ministers and seven of ministers of state, Fadnavis said at a joint press meet addressed by top leaders of the two parties. Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai said the two parties decided to come together again and run a stable government in the state as per the mandate of the people.
With this, the alliance will command a strength of 184 in the 287-member assembly (one BJP legislator died soon after the poll results were announced in October). The BJP has a strength of 121 legislators and the Shiv Sena 63. The two parties — allies for 25 years — split September 25 after a bitter spat and fought the assembly elections separately.
Desai added: “We will strive to provide a good government and are confident that we will live up to the people’s mandate.” IANS
