Maharashtra: A measure of distance between CM and deputy

How a cornered Eknath Shinde is working to stay relevant since Devendra Fadnavis took over the reins of the state

Today, in the run-up to the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde will be felicitated by Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar in New Delhi. Shinde’s high-profile capital visit also illustrates his efforts to build bridges outside the Mahayuti.

A measure of distance between CM and deputy

Shinde and Pawar, the two Marathas had built a rapport when Shinde was chief minister and both men sought to assuage the leaders of the Maratha agitation. While their camaraderie had raised eyebrows earlier, Tuesday’s award puts a stamp on their ties. It will also put Shinde back in the spotlight.

The man who cleaved the Shiv Sena and had a sensational career ascendancy as Maharashtra’s dark horse CM, has since been forced to maintain a low profile after his negotiations with the BJP failed after Devendra Fadnavis replaced him as CM.

In a series of swift moves Fadnavis has decisively scuttled Shinde’s efforts to retain the upper hand publicly. Last week, Shinde was kept out of the newly reconstituted State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) which has chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. In January, after concluding the winter session of the state legislature, he ordered a probe into Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC)’s bus purchase tendering process which was started during Shinde’s tenure as CM when he also helmed the body. A few days ago, Fadnavis appointed transport secretary Sanjay Sethi as chairman of MSRTC, quashing Shinde’s chances of appointing one of his own MLAs to that position.

While Shinde’s fair weather with the Mahayuti was not projected to last, Fadnavis is all out to prove who is the boss.

While earlier, Shinde faced a tug-of-war with the rival Sena faction – Shiv Sena (UBT), helmed by his former boss Uddhav Thackeray – today he faces challenges within the Mahayuti as BJP looks at the Shinde-led Sena as its closest competitor. It is a part of its vision to achieve a “shat pratishat” in the 2029 Assembly election, as stated by union home minister Amit Shah ahead of the election last year.

Senior political commentator Prakash Akolkar observed that with BJP’s tall ambition, Shinde may face shock in the local body polls too this year. “BJP is actualising its intent, expressed by Shah earlier. Shinde made a mistake thinking he would get a second run as CM after the state polls. He forgot that BJP has the track record to annihilate regional parties in their alliance, like Asom Gana Parishad and Maharshtravadi Gomantak Party; BJP even dumped the undivided Shiv Sena in the 2014 Assembly election. So now, along with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, he also faces a challenge from BJP,” said Akolkar.

The cold war between the BJP and Shinde began soon after the results of the Assembly polls were declared – BJP won 132 seats, just short of 13 to notch a simple majority in the assembly of 288 members. With Shiv Sena winning 57 seats, Shinde and his leaders nurtured a quiet hope that his chief ministership would sustain for some time.

The hope was thwarted when BJP put Devendra Fadnavis at the helm. Displeasure spread in the Sena camp and a sulking Shinde burrowed into a corner – he remained absent from Mahayuti meetings and left for Dare, in Satara, purportedly for a much needed R and R; it took the Mahayuti 12 days to form the government despite a landslide victory.

While he finally took oath as deputy CM on December 5, he expressed displeasure when portfolios were being negotiated, especially departments such as home and housing, leading to a further delay of portfolio allocation, till December 15. As the winter session concluded, after ordering inquiry into the bus procurement contract, another attack on Shinde came when Fadnavis appointed guardian ministers of Raigad and Nashik from NCP (Aditi Tatkare) and BJP (Girish Mahajan) respectively though Sena had staked claim on the same.

This added fuel to fire and an angry Shinde remained “not reachable” for partymen and BJP leaders from Maharashtra. An incensed Bharat Gogawale, minister and senior leader of Shiv Sena, who was one of the hopefuls, said at the time: “Six MLAs of Raigad – three from BJP and an equal number from Sena – have unanimously demanded my appointment. Senior leaders of the alliance may have taken the decision on Raigad guardian minister’s post but the local leaders and party workers are not happy with it.”

A cornered Shinde wasted no time and reached out to the BJP high command in New Delhi to express his strong displeasure, compelling Fadnavis to issue stay orders on appointment of guardian ministers in Nashik and Raigad, soon after he landed in Davos for the World Economic Forum. The posts are still vacant.

A party leader, who did not wish to be named, told HT: “We are unhappy with the stay given on the appointment of guardian minister of Raigad and Nashik on January 19 when CM Fadnavis was in Davos. Now, he is back from Davos, and yet there has been no development. It sends the wrong message.”

In the last week of January many Shiv Sena offices in north Mumbai witnessed a flurry of activity, with hopefuls queueing up to fill applications for positions in the party. A team from Showtime, a private political consultancy firm, hired by the party to recruit ground level workers, kept a keen eye on the process. It is clear that Shinde has turned his focus to strengthen the party’s organisation at the grassroots ahead of the local body polls.

There are eight other municipal corporations in MMR, besides BMC – Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Ulhasnagar, Panvel, Mira-Bhayndar and Vasai-Virar (in Palghar district).

For decades, the Thackerays held sway over this region backed by the local Agari-Koli communities, the electorate from Konkan and other parts of Maharashtra. Two years ago, Shinde defected with most leaders and former corporators, thus establishing his supremacy in Thane and Palghar.

This is now BJP’s fresh hunting ground.

The party has appointed former minister Ravindra Chavan, who belongs to Kalyan-Dombivali, and is networked in Thane, Palghar and Raigad, as working president of state. Chavan had locked horns with Shinde before the Lok Sabha election, when trouble had brewed between his son, MP Shrikant Shinde, and BJP leaders over local issues. He is now likely to challenge the deputy CM in the Kalyan-Dombivali, Bhiwandi and Ulhasnagar municipal polls.

Meanwhile, to inhibit his influence in Palghar, Fadnavis appointed senior BJP leader Ganesh Naik as its district’s guardian minister. Naik, who belongs to the influential Agari community, said in a meeting in Thane, Shinde’s pocket borough: “I will hold a Janata Durbar in Thane and if all party workers demand we could fight local body elections on our own in MMR.”

Shiv Sena (UBT)’s spirit may have been dented when it could garner only 20 seats against 57 by Sena, but party chief Uddhav Thackeray’s resolve to fight has not diminished. He is warming up to Fadnavis -- his son Aaditya frequently meets him, even as Thackeray praised him for his developmental policy in the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli. This has set off rumours of a possible BJP-Shiv Sena (UBT) reunion, which has unsettled Shinde.

It prompted him to launch Operation Tiger through which the party is trying to woo local leaders and Thackeray’s former MLAs. A Sena leader said, “In the backdrop of the drubbing Uddhav Thackeray took in the Assembly polls, many local leaders see the Shinde faction as a safe haven.”

Ramprasad Chaturvedi, one of the applicants who appeared for an interview held by a team from Showtime, in Bhandup, said: “I was a vibhag Sanghatak but want a senior designation. I have faith in Shiv Sena and hope in the future of the party.” Another applicant from north west Mumbai emphasised that Sena “is weak organizationally, and could take learnings from Sena (UBT)’s robust network”.

After Ganesh Naik’s janta durbar, last week, Shinde asked his ministers to hold public meetings three days a week, where citizens’ issues can be heard. Speaking on the exercise of expansion, party spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre said, “When the party started, people joined us. Today, many others are following the trend and we need to do justice to newcomers. We have to prepare the party for BMC and other local body polls. In each assembly segment of Mumbai, we have got 200 to 250 applications for various posts.”

One will have to wait till the end of the year to see if Shinde’s efforts pay off.