Maharashtra : Who is the Boss ?
The last speed-breaker in the path of Devendra Fadnavis taking over as Chief Minister of Maharashtra was removed on Tuesday after the outgoing caretaker CM Eknath Shinde met him at his residence. Shinde along with NCP leader Ajit Pawar will be sworn in as Deputy CM on Thursday at Azad Maidan, where preparations for the ceremony are under way.
Shinde, who had been sulking for the last few days and was citing health reasons for not attending meetings with alliance partners, at last, agreed to meet Fadnavis to sort out the issue. It was decided that BJP would keep Home and Revenue portfolios, while Urban Affairs portfolio will be given to Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Finance to Ajit Pawar. Nearly 21 to 22 portfolios will be handled by BJP, 12 portfolios will go to Shiv Sena and 9 to 10 portfolios will be given to NCP, reports said.
The grand swearing-in ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several NDA chief ministers and top BJP leaders. Needless to say that with Shinde sulking for several days resulting in delay in government formation, the shine was taken off from the sweeping victory of Mahayuti in Maharashtra. Shinde displayed tantrums and it was because of this that those leaders who were defeated at the hustings, got the chance to make snide remarks like, “People sitting in Delhi are playing ‘damru’ (pellet drum) and Mahayuti leaders are dancing to their tune”. Some remarked that the “wedding procession is ready, but nobody knows who will be the bridegroom”.
All these snide comments have now stopped after it was decided who will lead the “wedding procession”. The unhappy, sulking “Phoopha Ji” (uncle), alluding to Shinde, has at last agreed to join the procession. The political suspense on Maharashtra was palpable. Ajit Pawar stayed put in Delhi, while Shinde was waiting for Amit Shah’s phone call. One must understand the political nuances. Both Ajit Dada and Shinde wanted to negotiate directly with Delhi and wanted to bypass Fadnavis. Both were clearly told that the task of forming and running the government has been given completely to Devendra Fadnavis and there shall be no outside interference. Both the leaders were told to talk with Fadnavis and decide who will become ministers from Shiv Sena and NCP in the new government. Fadnavis will have the discretion to decide about portfolios of all ministers and both the leaders should speak to him only.
The message was clear from Mota Bhai: the government in Maharashtra will not run from Delhi. All the decisions will be taken in Mumbai and Devendra Fadnavis will be given a free hand. Everybody must stand up and say, Jai Maharashtra!
Sulking Shinde : Against People’s Will
A new government led by Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in on December 5 with NCP leader Ajit Pawar as Deputy CM. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be present at the oath taking ceremony. On December 4, BJP legislative party is expected to elect Fadnavis as its leader in the presence of central observers, Nirmala Sitharaman and Vijay Rupani.
The role of outgoing CM Eknath Shinde in the new government is not yet clear. Shinde has cancelled all his meetings citing health reasons, while his son Shrikant Shinde has described reports about his joining as Deputy CM as ‘baseless’. Shrikant Shinde clarified, he had neither sought any portfolio at the Centre, nor was he going to become the Deputy CM.
Eknath Shinde has not yet reacted to the ongoing political developments. There are reports that he is unhappy because his demand for Home portfolio was not accepted by the BJP leadership. Instead, he was offered Urban Development portfolio.
Home Minister Amit Shah had requested Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde to come to Delhi for talks, but Shinde, citing health reasons, did not go.
In recent years, it has almost become a trend in Maharashtra politics, for any one of the top leaders in the ruling combination, sulking when a new government is formed. In North India, there is a popular saying about “the uncle (phoopha) who always sulks at the wedding”.
Five years ago, when BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray started sulking. He called off his alliance with BJP and joined hands with Congress and Sharad Pawar to become the CM. He ditched Fadnavis’ ‘baaraat’ to head another ‘baaraat’ (bridegroom procession).
This time, too, Eknath Shinde has become the sulking “phoopha”. He is unwilling to leave the bridegroom procession bus, only because he was not made the bridegroom.
But, this time Devendra Fadnavis’ ‘kavach’ (armour) is invincible. Shinde may indulge in tantrums, but ultimately he will have to accept. The people’s mandate for BJP is quite clear and he has to bow before the people’s will. The sooner he realizes this, the better.