As many as 59 decisions were taken in a week in two state cabinet meetings, ahead of the announcement of the dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The original programme that was published prior to each of the meetings had shown only three and two subjects to be discussed. Senior ministers from the NCP expressed unhappiness initially and felt left out as they realised that no decision can come to the cabinet without the approval of the finance department held by their leader Ajit Pawar. “He knew everything. How does it matter if we knew or not,” a minister quipped in a bitter tone. Business Via Politics A businessman close to a powerful Maharashtra minister pointed out that one of the BJP MLC’s companies going public has disclosed that majority of its business is from the government. From sanitation to contract recruitment, these ‘Krystals’ are everywhere and are dominating. Dependence on the government for business has made that leader jump the ship in the past. The leader may not have become a minister, but has surely created fortunes through his political moves.
