After meeting Amit Shah, Eknath Shinde denies buzz of Mahayuti rift

Deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde’s back-to-back meetings with union home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah during his Maharashtra visit have raised several eyebrows in political circles. Shinde reportedly met Shah to complain about how he and his party were being sidelined by leaders of two other parties in the Mahayuti government – the BJP and the NCP – although he had played a key role in the alliance’s victory in the assembly polls held in November last year.

The meeting between the duo on Sunday morning was completely unscheduled and led to a delay in Shah’s departure from Mumbai, said a BJP leader.

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“Shinde held a closed-door meeting with Shah even on Friday, immediately after his arrival, apart from meeting him along with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday,” the BJP leader told Hindustan Times.

In the meetings, Shinde reportedly raised concerns about the brewing rift between him, Fadnavis and Pawar. The Shiv Sena is upset over delays in deciding the guardian ministership of Raigad and Nashik, interference by the chief minister’s office in decisions and policies relating to portfolios held by the party and problems in the release of funds.

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“The party leadership is upset about the secondary treatment being meted out by alliance partners in the government,” a Shiv Sena leader told HT. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP is being given more importance even though its strength in the assembly, at 41 seats, is 16 short of the Shiv Sena which has 57 seats, the leader said. The BJP is the largest partner in the alliance with 132 seats.

“Be it budgetary allocations or appointments in legislative committees, the Sena is given secondary treatment. Files related to funding for constituencies held by Sena legislators are routinely deferred and we are worried about sharing of power in statutory boards and corporations,” the leader said.

The withholding of funds for payment of March salaries to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) staff comprised the latest flashpoint in relations between the Mahayuti allies, said another Shiv Sena leader.

“The part payment of salaries to MSRTC staff caused much embarrassment to the party as our leader Pratap Sarnaik is the transport minister,” said the leader. Fadnavis’s decision of handing the MSRTC chairman’s post to a bureaucrat for nearly two months before Sarnaik was appointed as MSRTC chairman also did not go down well with the Sena leadership, he said. “We believe Shah has told Shinde saheb that he will look into the concerns.”

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Shinde, while speaking to reporters on Sunday, ruled out reports of a rift within the ruling alliance. “Ours is a party that believes in work and not grumbling. Even if there are any issues, we resolve them by discussing within the alliance. There is nothing wrong in meeting Amitbhai, who is the leader of the Mahayuti and the NDA,” he said after meeting Shah at the Sahyadri guest house on Sunday morning. Fadnavis was in Nagpur and Pawar was in Pune during the meeting.

Krishna Hegde, the Sena’s deputy leader, echoed Shinde, saying there was nothing wrong in him meeting the BJP’s central leadership. “The meeting may have been related to central funding that is routed through the urban development department, which is held by Shinde saheb. There is no rift between the ruling parties or their leaders,” he said.

Ajit Pawar also claimed that all was well with the alliance and said he did not think that Shinde met Shah to complain about him.

“All these are rumours. If he has any complaint, he would speak directly to me or the chief minister. We share cordial relations and there is no rift between us. Even Amitbhai did not tell me anything during our meeting yesterday,” said Pawar.

BJP leader Pravin Darekar too said all three ruling parties were working together for the betterment of the people. “There is no question of any rift between the ruling parties,” he said.