Eknath Shinde dismisses buzz of rift in Mahayuti
Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has dismissed the speculation of a rift within the Mahayuti and said everything is hunky-dory in the ruling alliance. The issues, if any, will be sorted out through discussions, Shinde told reporters on Sunday.
"There is no bickering within the Mahayuti. Everything is hunky-dory. We work and don't complain. We are the ones who fight," he said. The Shiv Sena leader was reacting to reports that he has complained to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). "If Eknath Shinde has to say something, he will directly talk to me or the chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis). We share good relations," Pawar told reporters. Amid talk of Shinde raising contentious issues concerning the state's ruling alliance with Shah, BJP 's Sudhir Mungantiwar on Sunday also defended the Shiv Sena leader. "Eknath Shinde is a good leader. He would not use such ways to raise complaints before Shah. Shinde is such a leader who will not wait and raise it with Amit Shah. He would directly speak with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar," Mungantiwar told reporters.
The ruling alliance comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP. It retained power after a landslide victory in the state assembly polls held in November last year. Shinde, who was chief minister from June 2022, however, had to be content with the deputy CM's post in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government formed after the polls. During his visit to Maharashtra on Saturday, Shah attended an event at Raigad Fort to mark the 345th death anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. NCP MP Sunil Tatkare on Saturday also hosted lunch for Shah at his house in Raigad, and described it as a "non-political" interaction with the issue of guardian ministers not on its agenda. Local Shiv Sena leaders didn't attend the lunch, further fuelling speculation that all was not well in the BJP-led Mahayuti over the allotment of posts of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik.
Notably, Sunil Tatkare's daughter and NCP MLA Aditi Tatkare is one of the contenders for the post of the Raigad district guardian minister, but is facing opposition from Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale. The Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government had to stay the appointment of Aditi Tatkare and BJP leader Girish Mahajan as guardian ministers of Raigad and Nashik and districts, respectively, in January this year due to opposition from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
