Mumbai: Whenever there is a sign of discord within the Mahayuti government, it is almost always followed by news of former Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, now deputy CM, retreating to his village, Dare, in Satara district.
The visit is followed by leaders of the Mahayuti talking about how there is no conflict within the alliance, and that Shinde’s visit is a routine, personal one.
On Monday, the pattern repeated itself as the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena clashed with the two other Mahayuti parties—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—on the appointment of guardian ministers to certain districts.
Deputy CM Shinde and leaders of his party rushed to clarify that the visit to Dare was “pre-planned” and that there is no conflict within the Mahayuti.
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Speaking to reporters in Dare, Shinde said, “Every time I come to my village, everyone says I am sulking. I am here to implement a major project of creating a new Mahabaleshwar and for that I will have to come here multiple times, travel to different places nearby. I am a bhoomiputra so I am taking these efforts.”
He added that, as far as the question of guardian ministerships goes, “the issue will be resolved, just as all other issues until now have found resolution”.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government Saturday named guardian ministers for Maharashtra’s 36 districts more than a month after inducting a full cabinet. The appointment of Aditi Tatkare from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP as the guardian minister for Raigad and BJP’s Girish Mahajan as the guardian minister for Nashik especially stung the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, with two of its hopefuls raising objections. In Raigad, Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale was eyeing the post, while in Nagpur, the party’s Dada Bhuse was an aspirant.
Deputy CM Shinde took up the matter with CM Fadnavis, who on Sunday proceeded to Davos for the World Economic Forum Summit. A day later, the state government stayed the decision for Raigad and Nashik districts.
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Village retreat
In November last year, following the Mahayuti’s resounding victory in the Maharashtra assembly poll, Shinde who was the CM in the first Mahayuti government from 2022 to November 2024, was said to be sulking after it was decided that the BJP will install its CM in the second Mahayuti government.
Following a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi when it was apparently made clear to Shinde that the next CM would be from the BJP, the leader had returned to Mumbai and proceeded to the Dare village.
Shinde had dismissed reports of him being unhappy with the arrangement. He had attributed his visit to his ill health to fatigue during the election campaign, saying he had gone to Dare to recuperate in the village’s fresh air.
Earlier in April 2023, there was wide speculation in the political corridors about Ajit Pawar, then Opposition leader from the undivided NCP, joining hands with the BJP. In the same breath, there was talk of Shinde, then CM, being dispensable for the BJP within the alliance and the possibility of him being replaced.
The CM had retreated to Dare village amid the talks and moved a part of the administration with him. Then too, he had denied any reports of him being miffed within the alliance and justified how he is not taking a break, but working from his village.
Conflict over guardian ministerships
In the distribution of guardian ministerships, Fadnavis kept the Gadchiroli district with himself, allotting the Thane and Mumbai city districts to deputy CM Shinde, and the Pune and Beed districts to deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Ministers from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena got six other districts—Dharashiv, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Satara, Ratnagiri,Yavatmal and Jalgaon.
For the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, other than the two districts that the deputy CM himself will represent, ministers from his party also got six districts to represent as guardian ministers, including Raigad.
BJP ministers got the rest.
Soon after Shinde got Fadnavis to stay the order for Raigad and Nashik, he proceeded to Dare.
This time, Shinde told reporters that his visit to Dare is to follow-up on a plan for a ‘New Mahabaleshwar’ he had put into motion as CM. The plan, for which he had appointed the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to prepare a feasibility report, involves including villages on the periphery of the tourist hill town of Mahabaleshwar in the tourist zone.
Speaking to reporters in Dare, Shinde said, “It is a big area. From Pratapgarh to Patan. There are 235 villages that are part of this, and 295 villages more have demanded that they be included. The idea is that this district should be known as a tourist district.”
His fellow party leader, Shambhuraj Desai, who holds the tourism portfolio in the Fadnavis cabinet, backed him, saying the visit was planned ahead and he as tourism minister was also scheduled to travel Shinde initially. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, he said he had to change his plans at the eleventh hour because a Japanese delegation was expected to visit him in Mumbai Monday evening.
Desai said that the decision of guardian ministerships for Raigad and Nashik would be taken jointly by all three leaders of the three Mahayuti parties once Fadnavis is back from Davos.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who is also a minister in the Fadnavis cabinet, told reporters that by and large there is consensus on guardian ministerships.
“We have been able to reach a resolution for 99 percent of the districts. When there are 2-3 claimants on one seat, someone has to let go. This is how every leader should nurture the Mahayuti alliance,” he said.
He added that Shinde is not unhappy or sulking and that the leader was present at all discussions over guardian ministerships.
“Shinde ji is not unhappy. He spoke to me yesterday, day before yesterday. There is no unhappiness. He keeps going to his village every once in a while. If he goes to his village, does that mean he is upset? Every decision in the Mahayuti happens with consensus,” he said.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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