© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Following his rebellion against uncle Sharad Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been allotted the finance portfolio as part of the latest Cabinet expansion.
This bodes well for Ajit, a reward in the form of a plum portfolio for his move to split the NCP. However, the allotment shows that all is not well between Ajit and CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s group of MLAs.
On Wednesday, Bachchu Kadu, the Independent MLA who is supporting the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, said that many MLAs are opposed to the allotment of the finance portfolio to Ajit .
Kadu said that many of the MLAs are opposed to Pawar getting the portfolio as they fear that Pawar may again squeeze the development funds of Shiv Sena MLAs as he did as finance minister during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Last July, one of the primary reasons the rebel Sena MLAs cited to justify their defection was the unease with Ajit Pawar and his handling of the finance portfolio.
Till April this year, the Shinde Sena was not even keen on the prospect of NCP joining the government. Amid rumours of Ajit increasingly cosying up to the BJP, Shinde Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said if Ajit joined the government with a group of NCP leaders, the Shiv Sena would not be part of the government in Maharashtra.
Shirsat, the Aurangabad West MLA, told the media on April 19, “The NCP is a party that betrays. We will not be with the NCP even in power. If the BJP takes the NCP with them, Maharashtra will not like it. We decided to move out (of undivided Shiv Sena) because people didn’t like us going with the Congress and the NCP,” he said.
The crisis that roiled last year made it clear that the Shinde Sena had a huge problem with the NCP, which was then in power as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) that also had the Sena and the Congress as its constituents. “We don’t have a problem with our leadership (with then CM Uddhav) but we have a problem in dealing with the Congress and the NCP, more so with the NCP,” Shirsat told a Marathi news channel.
Echoing his views, Paithan MLA Sandeepan Bhumre, who too sided with the CM, said at the time, “The Congress is not much of a problem. But, we don’t get along with the NCP.”
The MLAs complained that they were not getting the development funds required for their constituencies. Bhumre said, “Our main demand is that our work should be done, we should get development funds for our constituencies.” The MLA, who once said that he could “jump from the seventh floor of a building” to prove his loyalty to Uddhav, also alleged that Sena MLAs were being repeatedly harassed by the Congress and the NCP. “We repeatedly told the CM (Uddhav Thackeray) about the hurdles we were facing.”
Kadu had told a news channel back then, “I don’t have any personal issues … The MLAs had issues regarding the distribution of development funds. There was gross inequality in the distribution of development required by MLAs in their constituencies … Shiv Sena MLAs felt neglected …”
Shirsat also levelled similar allegations at the time. “The NCP and the Congress were getting funds but the Sena MLAs did not get them. People in our constituency used to ask us, ‘Even after the chief minister is ours, how come you are not getting funds but other parties are getting?’”
MLA Mahesh Shinde from Koregaon in Satara district also alleged a “huge discrepancy” in the funds that the Sena received in comparison to the NCP. “While Sena MLAs got Rs 50-55 crore as funds for their constituency, all the NCP MLAs got a minimum or RS 700-800 crore sanctioned in their areas.”
He also alleged that Sena MLAs were not “invited for government functions” and Ajit “did not pay heed to instructions from the CMs office”. Mahesh Shinde said, “State NCP president Jayant Patil visited almost all constituencies from where Sena MLAs were elected. In his speeches, he stated that in the next elections, an NCP candidate would get elected from the constituency.”
Shambhuraje Desai, the MLA from Patan, said: “Many MLAs would come to me for their work in their constituency and would request to make provision of the funds in the budget. Even as I was MoS for finance, I had no powers to make provisions of funds in the Budget.”
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who played a crucial role in bringing over Ajit Pawar, first raised the issue of “unequal distribution of funds” in the state Assembly. In March 2022, alleging that most of the funds had been sanctioned to the NCP, with the Sena receiving less in comparison.
