The Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra has faced a series of challenges since coming to power last November.
In the latest, Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde has resigned after his close aide was arrested for the torture and killing of a village Sarpanch in Beed.
The Sarpanch, Santosh Deshmukh, was kidnapped, tortured for hours and dumped on a road on December 9. Investigations reveal that he was beaten with a rod and subjected to unspeakable brutality, which led to his death hours later. Santosh Deshmukh had tried to stop an extortion attempt targeting a windmill energy firm. According to a police chargesheet, the mastermind of the killing was Dhananjay Munde’s aide Walmik Karad, who was seen in videos of the incident.
The videos provoked a huge backlash for the state’s ruling Mahayuti comprising the BJP and its allies Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Dhananjay Munde is a member of Ajit Pawar’s party. The decision to ask for his resignation was reportedly taken at a meeting on Monday night (March 3) between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Ajit Pawar.
The Chief Minister already has one sulking deputy on his hands: Eknath Shinde.
Shinde has lately been tossing out warnings: “Mujhko halke me mat lena (Don’t take me lightly)”. His threats have generated huge interest, speculation and theories in Maharashtra’s political corridors.
In an attempt to extinguish the speculation, Fadnavis presented a united front on Sunday, flanked by his two deputies, a day ahead of the Maharashtra Budget session. He ruled out any tussle within the Mahayuti and asserted that all allies are working together.
Shinde tried to deflect his viral comment towards his rival and former boss Uddhav Thackeray.
Even his colleague Ajit Pawar had wondered publicly who the subject of Shinde’s warning was. Speaking at an event on February 23, he had questioned whether Shinde was referring to Uddhav Thackeray or someone else. Shinde was present.
Recurring Tensions
The BJP-led coalition’s victory in the November Maharashtra election was dampened when Shinde, the outgoing Chief Minister, made it clear that he wanted a second term. This, despite the fact that his party won only 57 of the state’s 288 seats – less than half of the BJP’s record tally of 132.
When he relented, publicly conceding the decision on the top post to the BJP, he hoped to be compensated with a strong portfolio. However, the powerful ‘home portfolio’ was denied to him.
Shinde has been venting by skipping important meetings and government functions that require him to share the stage with the Chief Minister.
He doesn’t mind serving up a reminder every now and then, that it was he who facilitated the BJP’s comeback in Maharashtra.
A more recent grouse of the Shinde camp is what appears to be a slew of unilateral decisions by Fadnavis. He has reversed some decisions of the Shinde government and has even ordered probes into some of them.
The latest flashpoint follows the Chief Minister overturning another decision taken during Shinde’s regime.
On February 17, the Fadnavis government pointed out anomalies in the MSP (Minimum Support Price) scheme for crop procurement from farmers, run by the previous regime. There are also charges of corruption involving the nodal agencies appointed by it. There have been allegations of partiality, and agencies were allegedly selected without background checks.
Fadnavis has ordered the removal of security covers for several Shiv Sena MLAs who were ministers before. This, too, rankles.
The Chief Minister’s office has also ordered an inquiry into a delayed housing project in Jalna worth Rs 900 crore. The project, scrapped in 2020 over feasibility, was revived in 2023, on Shinde’s watch.
Last month, the state government cancelled a BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) contract worth Rs 1,400 crore for waste collection, slum cleaning, and drainage and toilet maintenance. The contract was issued when Shinde was Chief Minister.
Fadnavis’s office also revoked the transport department’s tender for acquiring around 1,300 buses and ordered fresh tenders, citing suspected violations to benefit private players.
The allies are also fighting over key guardian minister posts for Nashik and Raigad districts. The BJP decided not to cede the Nashik guardian minister’s post to the Shiv Sena and appointed state minister Girish Mahajan instead. This gives the party a stronger grip on the Kumbh Mela to be held in Nashik in 2027. The deadlock over Raigad continues.
Power Struggle
Though Shinde claimed it during the joint press conference, not everything is “thanda, thanda, cool, cool” between him and Fadnavis.
Catchy jingles and movie punchlines have long been a go-to for politicians trying to downplay tensions within.
Fadnavis has the upper hand as the Mahayuti has 230 seats in the 288-member assembly, with the BJP scoring a majority of the seats in the November elections. For all his moping, Shinde knows he has no option but to continue with the status quo.
“Shinde wants to be treated by the BJP the same way as Balasaheb Thackeray. Shinde believed that since he was offered a post the last time, despite the BJP’s dominant share in seats, the same could happen again. He thought that the mandate was because of his leadership,” says Venkatesh Kesri, a senior journalist.
“But the BJP decided that since it had more MLAs, conceding the top post to Shinde again would send the wrong signal to party workers. The BJP has got the votes of all sections of the society and has emerged as the main party in Maharashtra,” says Kesri.
Fadnavis has, strategically, not antagonised Ajit Pawar. Ajit Pawar’s understanding of his limited political bargaining power is reflected in the fact that he is content with the Deputy Chief Minister’s role and the finance portfolio. Sources say his party may get the deputy speaker’s post in the assembly.
Both Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar have problematic supporters, who are ambitious and familiar with controversies. They cannot lose sight of that fact when numbers come into play.
(The author is Contributing Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author