Miffed at the BJP and trying to assert itself to quell murmurs of discontent in the ranks, the Shiv Sena is now demanding that the position of the deputy speaker of Lok Sabha be given to the party. In that vein, the Sena is pitching MP Bhavana Gawali Patil from Yavatmal-Washim as its nominee.
On Thursday, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut staked the party's claim to the position when speaking in Kolhapur. Uddhav, however, added that they had allied with the BJP for the sake of Hindutva and not for any positions. Raut, who is also the executive editor of the party mouthpiece Saamana, said the deputy speakers post was not their "demand, but a natural right."
"The Shiv Sena must get this post…we have 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha and we are number two in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," he said. Raut added that while there were reports the BJP was eager to offer it to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, the party had contested against the NDA, stressing that the post either be given to the Shiv Sena or any NDA constituent.
As the Shiv Sena has been given just one berth in the Modi cabinet, there is discontent within a section of the party that South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant was appointed a union minister. Sena office bearers from rural Maharashtra claim that nominating an MP from the hinterlands would have helped the party expand and consolidate in the region.
‘IT’S OUR NATURAL RIGHT’
- Gawali is the senior most parliamentarian from the party, having been elected to the Lok Sabha for five terms
- Sena office bearers from rural Maharashtra claim that nominating a MP from the hinterlands will help the party expand in the region
