Last week, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde appointed his Deputy, Ajit Pawar, who heads the rebel faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), as the guardian Minister of the coveted Pune district, replacing Bharatiya Janata Party strongman Chandrakant Patil.
The final list of 12 Ministers underscores yet again the growing influence of Ajit Pawar’s faction within the ruling alliance, which includes Mr. Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, the BJP, and the NCP with Ministers from Ajit Pawar’s faction, such as Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde, and Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif being assigned guardianship of their respective strongholds of Beed and Kolhapur, following speculations that Ajit Pawar was dissatisfied with his allies.
Ever since the 64-year-old nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government on July 2, there has been an intense power tussle among the three allies over the allotment of Cabinet berths and guardian ministership, as they oversee the combined Budget of all local civic bodies within their districts and ensure the effective implementation of funds allocated by the Union and State governments for various schemes. On the political front, it enables them to bolster their legislators in the district and further expand the reach of their party due to close proximity with voters. In fact, within the Shinde camp, there is a palpable sense of discontent towards Ajit Pawar’s faction, primarily due to his initial acquisition of the pivotal Finance portfolio and his subsequent appointment as the guardian Minister of Pune, the Cultural and IT capital of the western State. The district is a nerve centre of Ajit Pawar’s politics, which can potentially create challenges for BJP legislators.
