The cold war intensifying?

Maharashtra's political scene heats up as CM Fadnavis surprises Shiv Sena by appointing Sanjay Sethi as MSRTC chairman amid financial woes and power struggles.

The most talked about issue in state’s political circle last week was not the skeletons tumbling out of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde’s cupboards but chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s decision to appoint transport secretary Sanjay Sethi as chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). The decision came as a surprise for deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The MSRTC, which runs state transport bus services across the state especially in the rural parts, comes under administrative control of transport department headed by Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik. While bus connectivity remains an important issue in rural Maharashtra, the MSRTC is in a bad shape financially. Towards the end of the previous Mahayuti government’s tenure, Shinde had appointed Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale as MSRTC chief and was probably going to accommodate one of his MLAs who could not be made a minister in the post. However, Fadnavis’s move has prevented the same. An official from CMO said Fadnavis wants to put the loss making MSRTC back on track and he doesn’t trust Shinde or his men to do this. Fadnavis has already ordered a probe into the purchase of buses for the MSRTC during the Shinde-led Mahayuti regime.

The cold war intensifying?

Fadnavis’s latest act is being seen as a clear signal that he has started showing who’s the boss. Shinde has been indirectly controlling the departments held by his ministers and taking key decisions in them. As this is something only the chief minister does, it has not gone down well with Fadnavis. Also, he hasn’t shown any urgency in resolving the dispute over guardian ministership though it has been a fortnight since he returned from Davos. Next on the cards could be the appointment of key officers. The CM’s aides say he will make sure that he appoints officers of his choice to handle key departments headed by Shinde’s ministers. The cold war that begun in end 2024 seems to be intensifying.

*Pawar to award Shinde!

Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde will be accepting the Mahadji Shinde Rashtra Gaurav award from the hands of political rival, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. The award programme has been arranged by the organisation Sarhad in Delhi on February 11 ahead of the 98th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. Ahead of the Sammelan, several Maharashtrians will be felicitated with the award named after Mahadji Shinde, a trusted lieutenant of Maratha empire who played a crucial role in establishing the dominance of the Marathas in north India. It looks like the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, an annual literary meet, that will be held in Delhi this year from February 21 to 23 will definitely be more than just a literary event. It will see prime minister Narendra Modi sharing the dais with Pawar who is the host of the meet. It will be the first time the duo will be sharing the dais following the bitter state assembly election campaign. Further, Shinde’s felicitation is happening by the hands of Pawar at a time when Thackerays are warming up to Fadnavis.

*When Pankaja lost her cool

Environment minister Pankaja Munde is not known for mincing her words when she reacts to something. Still, it came as a surprise when she reacted angrily to mediapersons’ questions following a meeting in Beed last week. “Don’t ask me any questions except ones about myself. If you keep asking such questions, you would bring more disrepute to Beed,” she reacted angrily. Beed district has become synonymous to controversies following the brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, a village head who was opposing extortion bid at a local windmill company. The police have arrested Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde in connection with extortion complaints and there has been a demand to sack Munde. Dhananjay’s cousin Pankaja has been maintaining her distance from the controversies. However, mediapersons were surprised when she, in a way, blamed them for bringing disrepute to the district instead of talking about activities of the people close to her cousin.

*Tawde’s test

Following Delhi, BJP has set its sights on Bihar that is likely to go for state polls later this year. As the party is preparing to not just win power but to be in the driver’s seat like what it did in Maharashtra, the person whose skills will be put to the test is party general secretary in charge of Bihar, Vinod Tawde. With Devendra Fadnavis establishing his complete control over the party affairs in Maharashtra, Tawde will be keen to make his mark at the national level. Will he be able to deliver?