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Was Eknath Shinde upset? What Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said about his two deputies
Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister on Thursday, while Eknath Shinde and NCP chief Ajit Pawar took oath as his deputies.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said his deputy Eknath Shinde was not upset and rejected allegations that the government's formation was inordinately delayed.
In an interview with CNN-News18, the newly elected Maharashtra chief minister revealed that while Eknath Shinde is emotional in nature, his other deputy, Ajit Pawar, is more practical.
“Shinde ji is emotional in nature. Ajit dada does practical politics. I have connected with both," Devendra Fadnavis said.
He admitted that while the Mahayuti alliance worked very hard, the last 2.5 years were "like a roller coaster ride".
“There was no inordinate delay in the formation of government…I don’t think Shinde ji was angry on any issue. There was one faction that wanted Shinde ji to become the coordination committee chairman. There was no anger. During our meeting in Delhi, he had conceded that as the BJP has more MLAs, the CM should be from the party," Devendra Fadnavis said in the interview.
On Friday, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant said Eknath Shinde did not want to join the new Maharashtra government and instead wanted to focus on building his party. But the Shiv Sena chief, who served as chief minister in the previous Mahayuti government, relented due to the demand of the party leaders, Uday Samant said.
On asked being that Eknath Shinde was not keen on being the deputy, Devendra Fadnavis replied, “If a party chief is outside (the government), the party can’t run properly. I made Shinde ji understand this."
Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister on Thursday while Eknath Shinde and NCP chief Ajit Pawar took oath as his deputies, two weeks after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti coalition won a massive victory in the assembly elections.
What Uday Samant said
"Eknath Shinde was not interested in becoming deputy CM. Party MLAs and leaders insisted that he should be part of the government because it is his responsibility to ensure that the schemes he launched are taken forward," Samant told reporters.
After the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, Eknath Shinde spoke to Shiv Sena leaders at the party office, he said. "He told us he wanted to build the organisation but honoured our request," Samant said.
Shinde has demanded home from BJP: Sena MLA
Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogavale said on Friday Eknath Shinde has demanded the crucial home department from the BJP and talks on portfolio allocation are in the progress. Gogavale, an aide of Shinde said the cabinet expansion is likely to take place between December 11 and 16, just ahead of the winter session of the state legislature. The winter session of the legislature will start in Nagpur, the state's second capital, from December 16.
