Discord in Maharashtra govt: What's dampening Mahayuti's post-election euphoria?

PC Alexander, the late Governor of Maharashtra, wrote in his book Perils of Democracy in 1995: “The most serious objection to coalitions is that they are not compatible with the principle of collective responsibility of the cabinet. According to this principle, once a decision is taken by the cabinet, it is binding on every minister, whatever might have been his personal views on the subject. It becomes his duty to defend the decision.”

Alexander’s observations, made thirty years ago, on coalition politics are still relevant considering the current state of affairs in Maharashtra. Since the Maharashtra election results were declared, discontent within Mahayuti’s constituent parties has frequently come to the fore. The latest bone of contention is the distribution of the Guardian Minister’s posts. The issue has led to a bitter war of words among the constituent parties.

After the formation of the Council of Ministers, each minister is made in charge of a district in the state as its Guardian Minister, overseeing developmental work in the district and coordinating with different administrative agencies. Generally, a minister with clout in a particular district is made its Guardian Minister. Although Devendra Fadnavis took the oath as the CM on December 5 and the Council of Ministers was formed around ten days later, the announcement of the list of Guardian Ministers was protracted due to disputes among the coalition partners.

Finally, when the list was released last week, it led to a political storm. The Shiv Sena overtly articulated its displeasure over the distribution of districts to the ministers. The two districts of Nashik and Raigad are the prime causes of acrimony. In the list, Fadnavis allotted Nashik to Girish Mahajan of the BJP and Raigad to Aditi Tatkare of the NCP.

The list was opposed by the Shiv Sena, which wanted to install its leader Dada Bhuse in Nashik and Bharat Gogawale in Raigad. Eknath Shinde went to his native village in Satara, which was seen as an act of dissent in political corridors. Before the issue could aggravate, Fadnavis stayed the appointments of Nashik and Raigad. The BJP claimed that it wanted to appoint Mahajan as Nashik’s Guardian Minister considering the Sinhastha Kumbh Mela to be organized there in 2027.

The appointment of the Guardian Ministers also led to a war of words between Shiv Sena and NCP leaders. Supporters of Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale blocked the Mumbai-Goa highway for several hours last week, burnt tyres, and shouted slogans against Sunil Tatkare, the state NCP chief and Aditi Tatkare’s father. The NCP’s spokesman Anand Paranjpe warned the Shiv Sena against making derogatory remarks about its leaders and said it would affect the sanctity of the alliance.

The Shiv Sena has turned out to be a disgruntled partner of the Mahayuti alliance since the declaration of the election results. After the alliance won with a sweeping majority, Shinde expected to retain the CM’s seat, although Shiv Sena stood second to BJP in terms of seats won. Shiv Sena’s argument was that the alliance contested the election with Shinde as its face, and such a victory couldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Shiv Sainiks. However, BJP, being the single largest party, claimed to be the rightful occupant of the CM’s chair. The deadlock led to a delay of around two weeks in the swearing-in ceremony. Shinde relented after speaking to PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

After the issue of Chief Ministership was resolved, the distribution of portfolios turned out to be another roadblock in forming the Council of Ministers. Shinde claimed the home department in lieu of forfeiting the Chief Minister’s coveted post. However, BJP refused to part with it. Ultimately, after a delay of around ten days, Shinde Sena gave up the claim, and Devendra Fadnavis retained the home portfolio.

Although the process of government formation was complete, the acrimony between the alliance partners continued. Fadnavis started overturning some of the decisions taken by the Shinde government and also ordered inquiries in some cases. He canceled the tender for procuring around thirteen hundred buses by the transport department and instructed floating new tenders. It was suspected that norms were violated in the tendering process to benefit a few private players. He also overturned the Shinde government’s decision to procure school uniforms from a central agency and ordered the decentralization of the procurement process. Fadnavis ordered a probe into the Shinde government’s decision to purchase ambulances and medical equipment amounting to Rs 12,000 crore.

There is a growing feeling among Shiv Sena cadres that the party is not getting a fair deal in the alliance. It is expected that Fadnavis will conduct parleys with the alliance leaders after returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos to mitigate the acrimony.