Cabinet expansion has also taken place in Maharashtra. 39 MLAs have been administered the oath of office as ministers. In the swearing-in ceremony held in Nagpur, BJP got 19 ministerial posts, Eknath Shinde got 11 and Ajit Pawar got 9 ministerial posts.
If seen numerically, Ajit Pawar has got ministries as per the assembly seats, but in terms of importance, Ajit Pawar seems to be winning. Eknath Shinde is not getting his desired portfolios, but Ajit Pawar is definitely getting his desired Finance Ministry – and this is proof of the status of both the leaders in the alliance.
The way Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and both Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were seen on the stage, they were also telling the reality of the power equation. It was clearly visible that people like Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were no longer close to Eknath Shinde.
Eknath Shinde has been completely used up
Eknath Shinde is deeply embroiled in the politics of Maharashtra. Their situation has become like a well in front and a ditch behind. It is not that there has been any decline in his performance. Maharashtra Assembly elections have yielded better results than Lok Sabha elections, and the current number of MLAs is higher than the number of MLAs who had rebelled in June 2022.
In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, Shiv Sena under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray got 56 seats, and after the division, Shiv Sena under the leadership of Eknath Shinde got 57 seats. If seen, Eknath Shinde has more MLAs with him now than the number with whom he had formed the government with the support of BJP after rebelling in Shiv Sena. But, due to BJP winning 132 assembly seats, all the equations have changed. Now the situation is such that it has become difficult for Eknath Shinde to change sides even if he wants to.
Eknath Shinde has become helpless that now he will have to accept whatever BJP says. Initially, Eknath Shinde wanted to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra again, but BJP leader Amit Shah clearly indicated that he would remain on that chair only till the elections. Devendra Fadnavis had also started saying that the leadership of the government would be decided on the basis of numbers, and it happened.
After not getting the post of Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde wanted that he should at least get the Revenue and Home Ministry, but BJP is not going to give that either. BJP wants to keep both the departments with itself. Devendra Fadnavis used to have the Home Ministry when Eknath Shinde was the Chief Minister, and under the exchange, Eknath Shinde also wanted the Home Ministry in his share, but it is no longer a compulsion for BJP to accept Eknath Shinde’s words.
Now Eknath Shinde has to be content with whatever he is getting – because in the eyes of BJP, he is no longer as useful as before.
New equations of power emerged
During the swearing-in, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar were naturally present on the stage, but were not seen together as before. For example, all three were seen together in press conferences before and after winning the elections.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were seen sitting together on the stage of Nagpur, while Eknath Shinde was sitting a little away. Maharashtra Governor Radhakrishnan’s chair was placed in the middle. However, they did sit together during the press conference later.
If Ajit Pawar could sit with Devendra Fadnavis, why not Eknath Shinde? And Eknath Shinde himself did not want this, or Devendra Fadnavis had decided not to let him sit near him. To some extent, the body language of the leaders was also giving answers to such questions.
After the election results came, Eknath Shinde had said like before that he was not in the race for the post of Chief Minister, but later there was news of him getting angry and leaving the village. From his own words and also from the words of his supporters, it seemed that he was in no mood to give up the post of Chief Minister easily, but he could not stand the strictness of the BJP leadership.
And during that time Ajit Pawar said that he is in support of the BJP Chief Minister. Ajit Pawar’s statement made BJP’s work a little easier – and Ajit Pawar came a little closer to BJP on this pretext. As Ajit Pawar comes closer to BJP, the distance from Eknath Shinde seems to have increased automatically.
Existential challenge for both, now Ajit Pawar on target
If seen, the present condition of Eknath Shinde is the future of Ajit Pawar. The importance that Eknath Shinde has got, Ajit Pawar is now getting it. Then it is obvious that Ajit Pawar’s condition will also become like that of Eknath Shinde in future.
The work that Eknath Shinde has done for BJP, Ajit Pawar has also done the same work. Just as Eknath Shinde has almost ruined Uddhav Thackeray’s politics, Ajit Pawar has also done the same with his uncle Sharad Pawar.
Both Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar were coming in the way of BJP gaining a foothold in Maharashtra politics. Through Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, BJP has almost achieved victory in both the cases, but some work still remains.
Ajit Pawar is getting importance for the remaining work – and, it must be assumed, in future, Ajit Pawar’s condition is also going to be like that of Eknath Shinde.
Some are a little ahead, and some are a little behind. But, the challenge of fighting the battle for survival has arisen before both Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.
-
-
-
-
