Deputy CM’s latest visit to his village Dare in Satara came amid clash between the three Mahayuti alliance partners on the appointment of guardian ministers to certain districts.
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.
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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