Talks on portfolio allocation in Maha expected by Dec 16: Kharge

New Delhi: Talks on portfolio allocation in Maharashtra are on and a decision is expected by December 16 when the winter session of the state assembly begins in Nagpur, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday.

Kharge, who is the party’s in-charge for Maharashtra, also said that “the start of the (Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress) alliance government has been smooth”.

Talks are going on among the allies on the allocation of portfolios, he told PTI.

Uddhav Thackeray took oath as chief minister on November 28 while two MLAs each from the three parties were sworn-in as ministers.

Kharge hoped that talks on allocation of portfolios end soon and a decision on cabinet expansion is taken by December 16 when the Maharashtra assembly’s winter session begins in Nagpur.

The six ministers who took oath along with Thackeray are — Eknath Shinde and Subash Desai (SS), Jayant Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal (NCP) and Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut (Congress).

Normally, the winter session is held in the first week of December. But this time due to imbroglio in government formation the session was delayed and has to be programmed for only brief sittings.

Sources said the House will have proceedings for six days.

Currently, Thackeray and all the ministers are functioning without portfolios. The talks are on to finalise names of MLAs to be inducted into the cabinet and their portfolios.