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BJP, Sena cite partiality by Ajit Pawar, seek reallocation of ₹800 crore in funds
Those who have signed the letter said that they also plan to take up the issue with senior BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil and Devendra Fadnavis
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) members have opposed the allocation of funds worth ₹800 crore for various developmental works, saying that regions under their jurisdiction have been ignored while allocating the funds.
Around 10 members of the district planning and development committee – mostly from the BJP and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) – have now written a letter to the Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh and divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao, saying that the funds need to be reallocated.
Among those who have written the letter are BJP leaders Jeevan Konde, Vasudev Kale, Sharad Butte Patil and Asha Buchke who have alleged that the funds were allocated by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar after he joined the Eknath Shinde-led government in July 2023 and became the district guardian minister. Ajit Pawar’s NCP along with the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and BJP share power in Maharashtra. Despite repeated attempts, Ajit Pawar could not be contacted.
Konde, a BJP leader and member of the district planning and development committee, said, “We have received information that around 70% of the funds have been allocated to those who are part of the Ajit Pawar NCP faction while 20% have been earmarked for work in his own constituency. The remaining 10% funds have been allocated to others, which is very less.”
Those who have signed the letter said that they also plan to take up the issue with senior BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil and Devendra Fadnavis this week if the collector does not reallocate the funds. “We are also considering approaching the Court for bringing a stay on such allocation of funds,” said Konde.
Members of the district planning and development committee alleged that during the earlier meeting in May this year, each one had recommended some works worth ₹10 to 15 crores. “However, none of the funds have been sanctioned and cleared,” said another member, who did not wish to be named.
Reacting to the power play between the three alliance partners in the state, Jayant Patil of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), said, “Ajit Pawar must have taken up the Pune district guardianship to back his own men. So, it is very natural that the BJP and Sena (Eknath Shinde) members are unhappy. All I can say is that my sympathies are with them.”
Sharad Butte Patil, who is among those who have written the letter, said, “We are not against Ajit Pawar and the letter we have written also does not mention anything against him per se. However, we want a reallocation of funds.” Konde too alleged that despite some of the works having been approved in the May 2023 meeting, the minutes of that meeting had not yet been shared by the administration.
“Last year, when Chandrakant Patil was the guardian minister, every region and each member of the committee was given an equal share of funds for development and as a result, nobody had any complaints. However, the situation has changed now.”
Earlier too, there were speculations of a cold war between Chandrakant Patil and Ajit Pawar over the Pune district guardianship. In August this year, Chandrakant Patil, who was then the guardian minister, had written to chief minister Eknath Shinde urging him to approve developmental works worth ₹400 crore cleared in the district planning and development committee. The funds, according to BJP leaders, were not approved by the Ajit Pawar-led finance ministry.
