E-Paper
Clean image helps NCP’s Deshmukh bag the home dept
Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader from Nagpur district, Anil Deshmukh, will be the next home minister of Maharashtra. A familiar face in the NCP circle,
Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader from Nagpur district, Anil Deshmukh, will be the next home minister of Maharashtra. A familiar face in the NCP circle, the 69-year-old Katol MLA’s image as a clean politician and experience in handling the administration got him the crucial department as the party leadership was looking for a suitable person after it was decided that deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar won’t be handling it.
NCP insiders said the party leadership did not want to favour any of the two other senior ministers—Jayant Patil and Dilip Walse-Patil. “Selecting one of them for the home department would have made the other unhappy. Besides, both were wary that the department may go to Pawar if the high court verdict on irrigation scam-related petitions went in his favour. Then party chief Sharad Pawar zeroed in on Anil Deshmukh who has administrative experience, a clean image and above all, is a trusted aide,” said a senior party functionary.
First elected as an independent MLA in 1995, Desmukh joined the NCP in 1999 and was a minister in the successive Congress-NCP governments from 1999 to 2014.
This is the second time that Deshmukh would be working under a Shiv Sena chief minister. As an independent MLA, he had supported the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government between 1995 and 1999 and was a minister during its tenure. He has handled, excise, food and civil supplies, public works, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, as well as school education departments during his tenure. “I will not comment on anything at this juncture. Allocation of portfolios is done by the chief minister and he will announce the departments of the ministers,” Deshmukh said on Saturday. During his tenure as minister of state for school education, Deshmukh shot to fame for his attempts to reduce the burden of school bags and introducing a legislation to rein in coaching classes.
