Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on July 6 dismissed reports of discontentment within his faction over the alignment of the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Ajit Pawar and his MLAs with the ruling dispensation.
He also refuted claims that his chief ministerial position was in jeopardy, labelling them as “rumours spread by the Opposition”. “No leader in our faction is unhappy and all have faith,” he said.
On Sunday, the 63-year-old Mr. Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the NCP founded by his uncle and party supremo Sharad Pawar to become Deputy Chief Minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government. His eight MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse-Patil, were sworn in as Ministers in the Eknath Shinde Cabinet.
