Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s sudden trip to Delhi (while he was recovering from Dengue) on Friday and “courtesy meeting” with union home minister Amit Shah has once again brought the focus on the cold war between him and chief minister Eknath Shinde that is brewing in the ruling alliance. For past several weeks, Ajit is maintaining his distance from Shinde and making no attempt to hide his dislike for the chief minister whose faction had cited his high-handedness during the MVA government tenure as a major reason for splitting the Shiv Sena and pulling down the Uddhav Thackeray led government in June 2022. A year later, Ajit himself joined the Shinde led Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government on the same designation and with the same finance portfolio. The tussle between Shinde and Ajit has resumed, this time on a bigger level.
According to NCP insiders, Ajit Pawar has made his unhappiness with Shinde’s handling of things known to the big brother, BJP. Several Ajit faction MLAs are complaining that their files in the urban development department headed by Shinde move at a snail’s pace. Ajit aides were also unhappy as Shinde appointed his MLA Sada Sarvankar as chairman of Siddhi Vinayak Trust managing the famous Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai while their wishlist for appointments on various government corporations is still not acted upon. Above all, the expansion of state cabinet which was expected last month is stuck as Shinde led Sena insisting on more ministerial berths. It was insisting on six berths while BJP was offering four to each of its two allies.
The fallout of the cold war between the two was clearly visible during the two hunger strikes undertaken by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil. According to Ajit’s close aides, the deputy chief minister is convinced that Shinde has made a mistake by giving too much importance to Jarange-Patil and there was no reason the chief minister himself should have gone to meet the activist considering the fact that resolving Maratha reservation tangle is a tricky business for the government. That’s why Ajit chose not to speak much on the issue, they say. On one occasion, he even opined that the state should conduct a caste census to see which population percentage of the castes---the demand which is being raised by the Other Backward Classes (OBC) leaders. Significantly, Ajit’s party colleague and state food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal has been vocal against the government’s decision to start a special drive to give Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas who have pre-Independence documents to prove that they were once regarded as Kunbis. Shinde camp suspects that Bhujbal has Ajit’s backing as the latter has not asked Bhujbal to tone down his attack even after the chief minister said that the ministers in the government should not speak in different voices.
{{/usCountry}}The fallout of the cold war between the two was clearly visible during the two hunger strikes undertaken by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil. According to Ajit’s close aides, the deputy chief minister is convinced that Shinde has made a mistake by giving too much importance to Jarange-Patil and there was no reason the chief minister himself should have gone to meet the activist considering the fact that resolving Maratha reservation tangle is a tricky business for the government. That’s why Ajit chose not to speak much on the issue, they say. On one occasion, he even opined that the state should conduct a caste census to see which population percentage of the castes---the demand which is being raised by the Other Backward Classes (OBC) leaders. Significantly, Ajit’s party colleague and state food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal has been vocal against the government’s decision to start a special drive to give Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas who have pre-Independence documents to prove that they were once regarded as Kunbis. Shinde camp suspects that Bhujbal has Ajit’s backing as the latter has not asked Bhujbal to tone down his attack even after the chief minister said that the ministers in the government should not speak in different voices.
{{/usCountry}}So will things change between the two after Ajit’s courtesy meeting with Shah? Or will the war intensify?
When two Sena veterans accuse each other of betraying the party
To show that his faction is the real Shiv Sena, chief minister Eknath Shinde has brought several senior Sena leaders in the party. It is now also leading to ego-tussle between the old warlords. Latest is the dual between Mumbai north west MP Gajanan Kirtikar and former minister Ramdas Kadam. Kirtikar who has turned 80, is not keen to contest the next Lok Sabha election. Kadam is lobbying for party ticket to his son Siddhesh. Significantly, Kirtikar’s son Amol is still with Shiv Sena (UBT) and sometime ago, Uddhav Thackeray indicated that he would his party’s candidate in Lok Sabha elections. Kirtikar and Kadam are now involved in a public spat with the latter alleging that Kirtikar is working against the interest of the party as he is actually helping his son. Kirtikar has responded saying the latter’s history on betraying the party is well known. According to Kirikar’s aides, Kadam was in talks with NCP leaders before Shinde split the party.
Pandharpur temple trust’s dilemma now reaches Mantralaya
The officers in state’s law and judiciary departments are wondering what to with the query sent by trust that manages the famous Vithal-Rukmini temple at Pandharpur. The trust invites chief minister of the state for conducting puja at the temple during Ashadhi Ekadashi and the next in protocol, deputy chief minister for a similar ritual on the occasion of Kartiki Ekadashi. Attending the ritual is politically important since hundreds of thousands of followers from Warkari sect visit the temple from all over the state. The trust is in dilemma since this time the state has two deputy chief ministers—Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. Instead of picking any name, the trust has sought opinion of the state’s law and judiciary department. Kartiki Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the Hindu month Kartik falls on November 23 this year. The officials in the department have not arrived at any conclusion yet and are likely to seek the opinion of the minister in charge of the department, who happens to be deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
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