A cold war is reportedly brewing within the Maharashtra government between Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena over the districts allotted to Ministers for flag hoisting ceremonies on Independence Day.
According to sources, the prime cause of disgruntlement is that the districts allotted to NCP Ministers for flag hoisting duties are far away from their home turfs. The alleged rift comes against the backdrop of newly inducted NCP leaders still awaiting appointments as Guardian Ministers of districts.
Sources said Ministers are likely to be appointed as the Guardian Ministers of the districts allotted to them for flag hoisting duties on August 15.
As per the list released by the General Administration Department, Mr. Ajit Pawar has been given Kolhapur, while NCP Ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, and Aditi Tatkare have been allotted Amravati, Solapur, and Palghar districts, respectively.
‘Not pleased’
Mr. Ajit Pawar, who has been eyeing the post of Guardian Minister of Pune, is reportedly unhappy with being allotted Kolhapur district for the flag hoisting ceremony and is likely to stay in Mumbai, according to sources.
Mr. Bhujbal, with his stronghold in Nashik district, is also reportedly upset at being given far-off Amravati. Mr. Mushrif and Ms. Tatkare also prefer their turfs of Kolhapur and Raigad, respectively.
Mr. Ajit Pawar, whose faction left the NCP headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar, joined the ruling BJP-Sena government with eight other NCP leaders, including Mr. Bhujbal, Ms. Tatkare and Mr. Mushrif, on July 2.
Since then, Mr. Ajit Pawar’s faction has been eyeing Guardian Minister posts in plum districts, but Sena and BJP Ministers are refusing to yield to their wishes.
‘Scramble for power’
Terming the wrangle over the flag hoisting ceremony and Guardian Minister posts “laughable”, Congress MLA and Leader of the Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar said the ongoing scramble for power between the three ruling parties was unfortunate for the people of Maharashtra.
“Despite having 28 Ministers in the Cabinet, there is no sign of filling the Guardian Minister posts, which are crucial for giving justice to the people of those districts. This government is hurtling in three different directions with all three parties busy scrambling for power. They have no time to address the problems of people amid this cold war,” Mr. Wadettiwar said.
