NCP says no question of giving up Pune’s guardian ministership

At a press conference in Nagpur on Wednesday, Fadnavis did not touch upon the topic of guardian ministership of Pune though he spoke about the guardian minister’s role for himself in Gadchiroli and Beed.

The BJP has the highest number of MLAs in Pune district. Out of the 21 Assembly seats in Pune district, the BJP has nine MLAs while the NCP has seven MLAs. BJP leaders say they have the rightful claim over Pune district.

Mahayuti deal of 2023

In 2023, before Ajit Pawar became the Pune district guardian minister, BJP’s Chandrakant Patil was the district guardian minister. However, Patil made way for Ajit Pawar as per the Mahayuti deal, wherein the NCP was allowed a bigger role.

Earlier this week, when asked whether the BJP would claim Pune’s district guardianship, Patil said: “This decision will be taken by leaders of all the three parties.”

NCP leaders said since Ajit Pawar is already the Deputy Chief Minister, it will look odd if anyone else is appointed as the district guardian minister of Pune. “How can Ajit Pawar, who is the Deputy Chief Minister, play second fiddle in the DPDC meetings? He will be the automatic choice for district guardian ministership,” said NCP leader Yogesh Behl.

Tatkare said though a tug of war is going on for the district guardian minister’s post, the decision is likely to be taken only in the first week of January. “I don’t think there will be any decision in this regard this week. It will happen only in the first week of January. And it will be decided through discussions by top leaders of all the three parties,” he said.

Meanwhile, Beed MP Bajrang Sonawane, who belongs to NCP (SP), said: “Ajit Pawar should take charge of Beed district and arrest the real culprits behind the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Ajit Pawar’s party has three MLAs, it should claim the guardian ministership. We won’t mind if Ajit Pawar becomes the guardian minister.”