Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekhnath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and MLAs during a group photo outside the Vidhan Bhavan during the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Assembly, in Nagpur, Thursday, Dec 14, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
The selection of chief ministers in the three states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh following the recently concluded Assembly elections has reportedly turned into a matter of concern among BJP leaders in Maharashtra.
The manoeuvre of replacing the established leaders with fresh faces has triggered talks on whether such a move would be taken if BJP-led alliance retains power in Maharashtra after Assembly elections due next year.
The Maratha agitation that has snowballed into a larger problem is also likely to alter the dynamics of the political parties in the state.
The public got a sneak peek of the apparent dissent within the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti ruling dispensation in a recent development where the saffron party opposed the entry of NCP MLA Nawab Malik into the government. The NCP leader was in attendance during the Winter Session of Maharashtra legislature, and to the surprise of many, sat on the Treasury benches.
The Deputy CMs of the state, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, were locked in a face-off over the matter. Fadnavis wrote a letter to the latter expressing objection over the entry of Malik, who has several charges against him and is currently out on bail in a money laundering case.
Shinde, who initially distanced himself and chose to keep mum over the furore, later sided with Fadnavis on the matter. Ajit eventually went on to clarify that Malik had not taken the decision to join either faction of the NCP.
According to a report on Hindustan Times, the BJP-ruled state government also aided the temple visit of a top rival politician’s wife in one of the northern states, which is being viewed as a way to make amends within the political sphere.
The state is headed for Assembly polls in 2024 and it remains to be seen what the party has in store for the state.