Demotion of former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis in the new State government has reaffirmed the supremacy of New Delhi over Mumbai, as Mr. Fadnavis is being made to follow the orders of Central leadership.
On the other hand, promoting Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister at the expense of Mr. Fadnavis is not only an attempt by the Central leadership of the party to detach emotionally charged Sena worker from Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, but also to create a Maratha leadership in the State under the Hindutva banner.
The surprise announcement by the former Maharashtra Chief Minister that Mr. Shinde, and not he himself, would be taking oath as the next Chief Minister was a move that quite obviously came from Delhi and owed more than a little to the future of the Shiv Sena and a bid to appropriate at least part of the legacy of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
