Shinde facing the biggest test of his life, bigger than his rebellion in 2022

Itrsquos the big test for outgoing CM Eknath Shinde who is bargaining hard with the BJP over power sharing for the next five years As they say in the corporate world itrsquos like ensuring an agreement for a better pay package and perks without variables at the time of recruitment instead of expecting a hefty raise later Like professionals Shinde doesnrsquot have an option to move over in the case of a bad offer like this oneHe has been denied the CMrsquos position The BJP will have its MLA as the head of the state Shinde is preparing to negotiate to get as much from the BJP and of course he also has Ajit Pawarrsquos buoyant NCP on the back of his mind as talks for sharing portfolios and ministerial berths resume today The new BJPled state government will be sworn in at 5 pm on December 5 at the cityrsquos Azad MaidanEnsuring a better tomorrowWhat he gets today will be the foundation for Shindersquos strengths and weaknesses tomorrow He could achieve success in the recent elections only because the BJP agreed to make him the CM as he led the Sena coup in 2022 and enabled the BJPrsquos return to power In the past twoandahalf years Shinde has experienced the exceptional powers of the CMO Though he worked under the watchful BJP he did enjoy his freedom He bulldozed when he desired The participants from the BJP werenrsquot happy every time Shinde had his way They waited for an opportunity to get even And itrsquos finally time The BJP wouldnrsquot like Shinde to go into overdrive again at the expense of their partyrsquos phenomenal numbers that deserve nothing less than the CMrsquos postEknath Shinde in Satara on Sunday PicPTIFrom June 2022 till recently there was friction within the Shinde government like any other alliance arrangement The feud came to the fore more often following Ajit Pawarrsquos entry as the Finance Minister The BJP didnrsquot have any issue with Ajit but Shindersquos troopers and the NCP boss shared an unhappy history The time they spent together in the MVA government was marked by allegations that Ajit held a bias against them The allegation was one of the reasons stated publicly for the Shinde factionrsquos departure from then CM Uddhav Thackeray who according to them did not reign in Ajit despite their complaints The certainty of Ajit getting the keys to the state treasury again has rekindled Senarsquos bad memoriesA larger than life imageWhat Shinde has been saying ever since he gave up his claim to the CMO has a hidden message that he is beyond material things such as the place of power He said on Sunday what he has done as the CM was unparalleled in Maharashtrarsquos history He linked his lsquooutstandingrsquo work with Mahayutirsquos lsquoextraordinaryrsquo success and in a way expressed his sacrifice as he reiterated that he was a giver he did not desire to be the CM and that he would stand in support of BJPrsquos candidate The expression if said repeatedly is likely to help him build a largerthanlife image ldquoNo other government could do in terms of development and welfare as our government has done in only two and a half years Our achievements will be written in history in golden wordsrdquo he stated very proudly in his native village on Sunday ldquoWhat is important is to ensure what we in the government give to the people not what we get for ourselvesrdquo he saidWhile he got into philosophical mode Shindersquos desire to be very prominent in Mahayuti2 didnrsquot hide He is exploring ways to be in that position If he cannot be the chief minister his team wants him to be Dy CM incharge of the almighty Home Department for they know Ajit Pawar would not part with the finance and planning charge In addition to having control over the police Shidersquos team want portfolios they did not have in the previous regime The onus is on the BJP to relinquish plum portfolios to replenish the Sena stock Meanwhile Ajit Pawar has remained content Perhaps he knows what he would get His body language has undergone a sea change in the past five months Itrsquos his entirely new versionmdashsmiling witty confident and willing to talk freelyShinde told reporters on Sunday that the Home Department would be discussed among others after he returns to Mumbai to resume power talks with the BJP and NCP If he doesnrsquot will his son Shrikant be one of the Dy CMs He did not deny any such possibility Will he stay outside the government and be the Senarsquos remote control His team doesnrsquot approve of this remote control ideaThey want Shinde inside the government to fight on their behalf just the way BJP had convinced Devendra Fadnavis not to be outside the government Shinde has the onerous task of adjusting to the new conditions that curtail his administrative and bargaining powers He may still have the political power thanks to his MP and MLA strength His strength will survive the coming days and years if he makes the right moves To begin with he will have to weed out troublemakers of the past while choosing his new ministersDharmendra Jore is political editor midday He tweets dharmendrajoreSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom