Ajit supporters hail him as “next chief minister”, Shinde jets off to meet Modi

The birthdays of both deputy chief ministers—Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis—were on Saturday. While both kept the celebrations low-key due to heavy rains and the landslide in Raigad, Shinde flew to Delhi to meet Modi

Mumbai: Chief minister Eknath Shinde’s second visit to Delhi in a week and his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday has left political circles abuzz with speculation about a change of guard in the state. Banners put up by Dy CM Ajit Pawar’s supporters on his birthday, hailing him as the next chief minister and a tweet by Ajit’s close aide and NCP MLC Amol Mitkari intensified the speculations. It compelled the Shinde-led Shiv Sena to promptly deny that Shinde was being replaced.

Ajit supporters hail him as “next chief minister”, Shinde jets off to meet Modi

The birthdays of both deputy chief ministers—Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis—were on Saturday. While both kept the celebrations low-key due to heavy rains and the landslide in Raigad, Shinde flew to Delhi to meet Modi.

This was his second meeting with Modi in a week and the fifth visit to Delhi in a month. Though Shinde called it a courtesy visit, party insiders said that there could have been discussions between the two pertaining to the pending disqualification petitions and a new ruling partner joining his government. Shinde and his party have been upset since the Ajit-led NCP faction joined the government and was given a few key departments, including finance.

After the meeting, Shinde told the media in Delhi that the visit was because his family wanted to meet Modi. “We all had a very cordial discussion with him,” he said. “I personally discussed various infrastructure projects, including the Dharavi redevelopment, bullet train, metro projects and the Marathwada water grid, and was assured of central assistance for all these. The PM was keen on the time-bound completion of the Dharavi project.” Shinde, however, evaded the question related to the projection of Ajit Pawar as the next chief minister in his interaction with the media.

While Shinde was in Delhi, Ajit Pawar’s supporters created a buzz with banners and TV ads hailing him as the next chief minister of the state. Staunch Ajit supporter and NCP MLC Amol Mitkari tweeted a video, which said that the “Ajit Era” would begin soon.

Ajit, along with eight other NCP legislators, rebelled against his uncle, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and joined the Shinde government on July 2. His faction has been claiming the support of up to 40 MLAs. Leaders close to Ajit claimed that he had been assured the top post by the BJP in return for splitting the NCP. “Otherwise, why would he join the government by ditching his own uncle?” asked an NCP leader.

The leader added that no one knew when Ajit would get the promised post. “However, it will not happen immediately, as it would not be in the BJP’s interest to upset the Shinde faction, which has a sizable strength of 50 MLAs,” he said. “Every ally is precious for the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena is one of the largest allies the NDA has currently. Thus, it will let Shinde continue at least till the general elections.

“However, the hanging sword of disqualification, especially amid the recent Supreme Court intervention, has resulted in uncertainty about Shinde’s fate,” he continued. “In the current scenario, even the assembly speaker may find it difficult to keep the CM issue hanging till the general election. If Shinde and other 15 MLAs are disqualified, he could lose his chair.”

Mumbai-based political analyst Hemant Desai said that though there was political uncertainty and tacit competition between the two rebel factions, immediate change was unlikely. “Both Shinde and Ajit Pawar have been frequently ferrying to Delhi,” he said. “The two don’t share a very cordial relationship, and Ajit Pawar has demonstrated this through his earlier remarks against Shinde as CM. He would not target Fadnavis but would use stern words for Shinde while criticising the government. Having said that, an immediate change of guard is unlikely, as it would not be in the interest of the BJP as well.”

Meanwhile, Fadnavis supporters put up posters in Nagpur on the occasion of his 53rd birthday, projecting him as the ‘pride of Maharashtra’. The posters came in response to Uddhav Thackeray’s recent remarks terming Fadnavis as a “blot on Nagpur”.