Eknath Shinde rejects rift rumours, says 'we will not break' ahead of Maharashtra's Budget Session

Fadnavis said, 'I don’t take Shinde lightly so the remark was directed at those who underestimated him'

Maharashtra's top leaders, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, held a joint press conference on Sunday on the eve of the Maharashtra Budget Session. Maharashtra's Budget Session will begin on Monday and conclude on March 26.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde refuted the ongoing speculations regarding a possible rift and asserted that the Mahayuti will remain intact. He also accused the previous Maha Vikas Agahdi government of stalling many development projects in the state.

"This is the second session of our government. Only we (Devendra Fadnavis and I) have changed roles. But yes, Ajit Dada's role is constant. We have started many projects which the MVA government stopped. Ajit Dada will present the Maharashtra budget.

In a lighter moment, Shinde jokingly dismissed the idea of a "cold war" within the government and expressed confidence in the government's unity.

"No matter how many breaking news you give, we (Mahayuti) will not break. What is cold war? There is nothing like that. In this scorching heat of Maharashtra... how is a cold war possible?..," Shinde said as quoted by the news agency ANI.

While Fadnavis maintained that all partners of ruling Mahayuti – BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP – are working unitedly, Shinde chipped in, “Everything is thanda thanda, cool cool.” Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, said the budget session will be the first House proceedings of the new government after Mahayuti’s stunning victory in the state polls last year. “It is just that Fadnavis and I have swapped our chairs. Only Ajit Pawar’s chair is fixed,” said Shinde, who was the CM before the assembly elections with Fadnavis and Pawar as his deputies then.

Pawar came up with the repartee, “What can I do if you couldn’t keep your chair,” sending all three into peals of laughter.

Shinde’s remarks came days after he said, “don’t take me lightly”, hinting that he was the reason behind the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government in 2022.

When asked about his “don’t take me lightly” remark, Shinde said he had already clarified that it was directed at those who took him lightly and how he taught them a lesson, in a veiled reference to Uddhav Thackeray. Fadnavis added, “I don’t take Shinde lightly, so the remark was directed at those who underestimated him.”