The six-day winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly, which ended on Saturday ,has gone down in the annals of India’s and Maharashtra’s political history as unprecedented as not a single BJP-dominated Mahayuti minister’s portfolio was announced even as the session ended.

Despite a month after the BJP-led Mahayuti came to power in Maharashtra after a landslide victory declared on November 23, sources said that the internal tug-of-war and slugfest over the ministerial portfolio pie is still on.

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The Opposition was quick to criticise the non-allocation of ministerial portfolios. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said, “With such a magnificent victory, one would have expected rejoicing, but what has come to the fore is discontent and differences within the Mahayuti”.

Maharashtra State Congress chief Nana Patole said, “If everything is fine, then why is it taking so long to form the cabinet and allocate portfolios? Once cabinet ministers take their oaths, portfolios are generally allocated within 24 hours, but in the Mahayuti’s case, it has been several weeks,” he said.

It may be recalled that shortly after the swearing-in ceremony on December 15, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis himself had announced that ministerial portfolio allocation to newly sworn-in ministers would be completed “within the next two to three days”.

Though he has officially maintained, “There are absolutely no differences. Everything is decided. And all three parties are working as a team,” it is now clear that decision on ministerial portfolio allocation is yet to happen and there is a tussle going on to grab key portfolios like the home ministry, the finance ministry, the revenue ministry, urban development, energy, industries and public works department.

Meanwhile, sources said that Deputy CM Ajit Pawar is particularly keen on heading the finance ministry, but the BJP is keen on the portfolio as well.

As if that was not enough the BJP’s decision to drop four sitting ministers, including its senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar, has not gone down well with his supporters. Even the decision by the Ajit Pawar-led NCP to deny a ministerial post to its senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal has stirred controversy.

In fact, Bhujbal had publicly expressed his disappointment after being denied a cabinet berth. “I stood by the OBCs at a time when there were attacks from all sides. I fought Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who was seeking Maratha reservation in the OBC quota. I think the denial of a minister’s post is the reward for my hard work,” Bhujbal had stated, expressing his displeasure.

The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had dropped its former minister Tanaji Sawant who said, “I was promised a Cabinet, a promise which was not kept”. Another former minister from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Vijay Shivtare too was dropped and he had said, “I am upset at how I have been treated.”

In fact, Shivtare had even left the legislative session in Nagpur and returned to his constituency. Shivtare had said, “I left the winter session of the legislature because what happened in the last two or three days has ruined my mood. Even though I was eligible, I was rejected. Eknath Shinde must have been behind the rejection. I don’t know why I was denied the ministerial post”.

Another disgruntled Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA is Prakash Surve, who had openly expressed his displeasure after being denied a ministerial berth. “I was a little sad,” Surve said, and he had returned to Mumbai to meet his workers.