Tussle over CM’s post widens Shinde-Fadnavis divide in Mahayuti

The animosity between the two, feel Mahayuti insiders, could become a thorn in the flesh for the alliance, if not addressed with equanimity

MUMBAI: The rift between chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over chief ministership was revealed to everyone on Tuesday, when a visibly unhappy Shinde did not engage with his deputy as he paid tributes to martyrs of 26/11 terror attacks; later, the duo also maintained a safe distance from each other at Raj Bhavan when the chief minister submitted his resignation to Governor CP Radhakrishnan. A senior BJP leader said there has been little communication between them since Sunday.

Eknath Shinde in a conversation with CM Devendra Fadnavis during a press conference in Mumbai. (ANI Photo)

The animosity between the two, feel Mahayuti insiders, could become a thorn in the flesh for the alliance, if not addressed with equanimity.

Shinde’s close aides believe he has a natural claim to the position in the new government as he led the ruling alliance’s campaign in the assembly election. It was also Shinde who handled the issue of the Maratha reservation and aggressively implemented Ladki Bahin Yojna, which contributed significantly to Mahayuti gaining numbers in the assembly election.

The BJP, which leads the Mahayuti combine, on the other hand, is firm on naming a candidate from the party after winning 132 of 288 seats, just 13 short of simple majority.

Significantly, the two top leaders of the ruling alliance have not had a cordial relationship for the last two-and-a-half-year-long tenure since Shinde became chief minister in June 2022. While Fadnavis, a former chief minister with more MLAs than the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, was expecting to play the role of the big brother, Shinde kept asserting his authority.

There was friction between the two on several occasions – over the appointment of police officers in top positions; Fadnavis also had differences with Shinde over handling the Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil’s agitation to include Marathas in the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota.

The duo however set asides their differences after the rout of the ruling alliance in Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. But during the campaign for assembly election, the rift became visible as Shinde’s spin doctors projected him as the brain behind the Ladki Bahin Yojna, and Fadnavis’s team ran a separate campaign to show ‘Devabhau’ (as he called by party colleagues close to him) as a dear brother of women in Maharashtra.

According to insiders, the problem could be exacerbated should Fadnavis become the CM and Shinde is assigned to work under him in the cabinet. BJP is reportedly treading cautiously.

“It is clear that Shinde is not willing to work under a BJP chief minister, which could be Fadnavis. The senior leadership has communicated to him that he will be accorded respect and not undermined in the new government. They are giving him some time, as the top leadership is going slow in government formation,” a BJP leader told HT.

A close Shinde aide said, he is weighing options whether to join the cabinet under a BJP CM or seek a berth in the union cabinet. “Shifting to Delhi would mean a diminished influence in Maharashtra politics. He would prefer deputy chief ministership with an important portfolio like home or urban development department,” he said.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar however denied claims of Shinde being upset. He said, “He is not unhappy. He has told the seniors in Delhi clearly that he will accept whatever they decide.”