Absent Ajit Pawar, continuing war of words: Signs of a widening rift in Maharashtra ruling alliance

Among the key points of differences between Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde and the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar: Cabinet expansion, allotment of MoS portfolios, political appointments at corporations, and district guardian ministerships.

Not one to skip office, Ajit Pawar has not been to the Mantralaya for 20 days now. (Facebook/Ajit Pawar)

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A continuing war of words between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit’s absence from the state secretariat for almost three weeks have ensured that speculation about a rift in the ruling alliance in the state has continued to simmer.

Not one to skip office, Ajit has not been to the Mantralaya for 20 days now. Since recovering from dengue that kept him out of public eye for a few days, he has been to his brother’s house in Pune, travelled to Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, attended the Pawar family get-together in Baramati, and attended the men’s cricket World Cup semi-final match between India and New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday. On Wednesday, he also met his cousin Supriya Sule for Bhai Dooj. But on Thursday he again gave the secretariat a miss. The principal secretary attached to Pawar’s office, Ashish Sharma, was appointed GST Commissioner on Wednesday. He currently holds additional charge of the Deputy CM’s office.

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Last week, it yet again became apparent that all was not well between the Sena and the NCP as the CM expressed displeasure about infighting among ministers. On Wednesday, senior Sena leader and former minister Ramdas Kadam again launched a direct attack on Ajit, pointing out that he fell ill because of dengue at a time when the government was under pressure over Maratha reservation protests. Kadam also hit out at MLAs loyal to Ajit who have expressed solidarity with the protests and spoken out against the government. “When the Maratha community targeted Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, he (Ajit Pawar) suffered from dengue. How can MLAs from the ruling side protest against the government?” he asked.

A senior official who works for a department assigned to a minister in Ajit’s group said the tussle between the two sides had taken such a proportion that the state administration had chosen to go into a wait-and-watch mode. “The situation is exactly like it was in the last days of the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi). Nobody knows whether to move ahead with a certain proposal because there is no guarantee that all sides will agree to it,” said the bureaucrat.

A senior leader in the Ajit camp said issues such as Cabinet expansion and allotment of minister of state portfolios, political appointments at corporations, and further redistribution of district guardian ministerships are among the points of friction between the two sides. Before the deputy CM fell ill, senior leaders of his camp, including Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel, visited Delhi to discuss “pending political matters”. Then, Ajit visited Delhi again last week to meet Shah along with Patel and Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare to discuss these issues.

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The Ajit group has also been irked by the Sena’s demand to contest at least 19 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, according to people privy to the discussions. In October, speaking to The Indian Express, Ajit said such decisions could wait and any party was free to demand whatever till then.

One thing that does not sit well with the Sena, according to insiders, is the power Ajit has because he is the finance minister. Other ministers require the Deputy CM’s approval for their projects and this has caused friction between the two sides. The Ajit group is also unhappy with Shinde for running the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) like Narendra Modi runs the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The recent editions of the government’s “Shasan Aplya Dari (government at your doorstep)” programme have seen just the CM in attendance while Deputy CMs, Fadnavis and Ajit, have remained absent.

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History repeats itself

With Ajit and his group of MLAs joining the ruling alliance on July 2, the members of the Shiv Sena became uncomfortable as the BJP from then on was no longer dependent on them for the survival of the state government. Handing over the finance portfolio to the NCP leader widened the fissures as it made the Sena’s ministers dependent on Ajit and also shrunk the pie for his group. In 2022, when they broke out of the undivided Shiv Sena and brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, the Shinde group accused Ajit of being partisan in the distribution of funds.

This history is seemingly repeating, with sources saying that each side is trying to undercut the other. After the distribution of portfolios, Ajit held several review meetings of ongoing infrastructure projects. But infrastructure war room in-charge Radheshyam Mopalwar gave these meetings a miss. Next, Ajit held review meetings of the health department, which is with the Sena’s Tanaji Sawant. This saw the CMO step in and in September the government cancelled a resolution passed by the Ajit group-controlled Women and Child Welfare Department issued on an ambitious, yearlong campaign for women’s empowerment.

Ajit then took umbrage at the CMO’s delay in appointing guardian ministers. After the Deputy CM cancelled a few meetings saying he had a throat infection, Shinde and Fadnavis rushed to Delhi in early October to meet Shah. The redistribution of guardian ministerships was announced the following day.