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Journalism of Courage
One of the loudest complaints raised by the shocked Shiv Sena Shinde faction when it realised that its new partner was going to be Ajit Pawar was his “partisan” role in allocating funds when he was Finance Minister under the MVA government.
Back as Finance Minister, and Deputy Chief Minister, but on the NDA side now, Ajit Pawar is out to settle all those apprehensions by putting his money where his mouth is – literally.
The ongoing Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly has witnessed Pawar generously giving away money to MLAs on the NDA side during supplementary demand proceedings, sending a message not just to CM Eknath Shinde’s nervous Sena but also the NCP MLAs on the Opposition Benches regarding what could lie ahead for them if they crossed over to his side.
The most eyeball-grabbing allocation was to the constituency of Bharat Gogawale, the Shinde Sena MLA who was among the first to break away from the MVA. He was also among the most vocal against Ajit Pawar’s fund distribution as MVA Finance Minister.
In the latest allocation, his Mahad seat in district Raigad got as much as Rs 150 crore.
Of the total supplementary demands worth Rs 41,243 crore cleared by Ajit, Rs 1,500 crore were allocated to MLAs of the ruling BJP, Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP loyalists. On an average, the 53 NCP MLAs received Rs 25 crore each, with Ajit ensuring that one of his fiercest rivals, Jayant Patil, got the same amount for his Islampur seat.
Saroj Ahire, among the last NCP MLAs to declare loyalty to Ajit Pawar, got Rs 40 crore for her seat, Deolali.
Ajit also judiciously ensured the same amount was allotted to MLAs of the Shinde Sena and BJP from the Vidarbha region. The BJP hopes to maximize its performance in the cotton belt of Vidarbha, with the Congress seen as gaining ground in the area.
Congress and Uddhav Sena MLAs have been holding protests both inside and outside the Vidhan Bhawan, saying their seats had not been considered adequately.
Rejecting the criticism against him, Ajit said, “Funds are pledged based on proposals which are in the larger interest of the masses. Where is the question of favouritism?”
Senior Congress leader and former minister Balasaheb Thorat said: “We understand ruling MLAs getting special treatment. But you don’t completely ignore Opposition MLAs. We urge the government to make course corrections. Otherwise, we will have no option but to take our battle to court and fight for justice.”
The reversal of fortunes has the endorsement of Ajit’s fellow Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. When in the Opposition, Fadnavis incidentally would complain about “nepotism” in fund allocation in the annual budget of 2022-23 by the MVA government.
Fadnavis, who was seeking to lure the Shiv Sena away from the MVA, then stated, “Out of the total budget of Rs 5.48 lakh crore, the NCP has bagged the maximum share of 57.36%, followed by the Congress at 26.27%. The Shiv Sena (then undivided) got the lowest share of 16.43%.”
Congress leader and former CM Ashok Chavan said making fund allocation a tool to settle political scores did not augur well for the state’s overall progress. “When you allocate more funds to your party MLAs, keeping political criteria in mind, it will lead to regional imbalance,” Chavan said.
Uddhav Sena leader Sanjay Raut said: “Every MLA belonging to the ruling coalition has received Rs 25 crore and MLC Rs 10 crore each for projects in their constituencies. Such a standard formula even as the Congress and Uddhav Sena are ignored to teach them a lesson for not switching sides is blatant misuse of power.”
BJP insiders said the unfair fund distribution was a result of the Opposition’s failure to highlight their needs properly. “When Fadnavis was CM, while MLAs of the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena then got their works done, whoever came up with proposals in public interest from within the Opposition also received funds… Instead of trading charges, the Opposition should have asserted its rights to projects. The government would give a nod for good works,” a leader said.
In coming days, the fight over the fund allocation is likely to escalate, with 44 Congress MLAs pledging to expose the “double standards” of the NDA government.
Meanwhile, the state is staring at skewed economics which might take a turn for the worse ahead of the elections next year. In 2023-24, its overall debt stood at Rs 7.07 lakh crore.
