Short-changed, says Sena MP Shrirang Barne after denial of cabinet berth

PUNE: Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Barne, who is chief whip of the party in Lok Sabha, is upset at being overlooked during cabinet formation. Barne on Monday said the Shiv Sena has been shortchanged even though it has the third highest number of MPs among NDA allies. Other parties with fewer seats were given cabinet berths, he added. Barne was in the race because of his seniority among Sena MPs.
The three-time MP told TOI, "Chirag Paswan's party won five seats, H D Kumaraswamy's party won two and Jitan Ram Majhi's party won one.They all have cabinet berths. Shiv Sena won seven seats but was not considered. This is injustice." Barne added that the BJP was taking old friends for granted thinking they would stay with NDA under any circumstances. However, his views were countered by fellow Sena MP Shrikant Shinde who said his party's support govt was "unconditional".
Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav, a four-time MP from Buldhana, as minister of state (independent charge) is the lone Sena representative in the NDA govt. "Jadhav took the oath after 34 others before him including those from smaller parties," Barne pointed out.
Of the 72 MPs sworn in as ministers, 61 are from BJP and 11 from allies. Barne said Sena has a better strike rate in Maharashtra than BJP -the latter contested 28 seats and won nine while Sena won seven of the 15 it contested.
NCP leaders too expressed unhappiness as they were offered an MoS post instead of a cabinet berth. NCP MLA Anna Bansode said, "Many party workers are unhappy because none of our leaders are in the cabinet. Both Ajit Dada and CM Eknath Shinde faced anger and the opposition of many people in Maharashtra to go with the BJP. Their demands should have been considered," he said.
Both Barne and Bansode said BJP should have thought about the upcoming assembly polls as giving cabinet berths to its allies would have sent a positive message.