He won political lottery but people are observing how one retains a position: Maha minister's sarcastic potshot at Eknath Shinde

Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Forest Minister and BJP MLA Ganesh Naik launched a sharp, sarcastic barb at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying that the latter won a political "lottery". He was likely referring to the appointment as chief minister in 2022 and said that not everyone wins the lottery but common people observe how one earns and retains a position.

"Eknath Shinde (current deputy CM) had won a lottery. Not everyone has to win the lottery, but Shinde won it. However, what matters is how a person achieves a position and retains it, and common people observe this," Naik said on Friday, adding that when he was the guardian minister of Thane district, late Vishnu Savra, late BJP MP Chintaman Wanga, and Eknath Shinde were members of DPDC (District Planning and Development Council).

This is, however, not the first time that Naik has targeted Sinde and in July this year, he had claimed that outsiders were exploiting the resources of Navi Mumbai. He had, however, not named Shinde, the guardian minister of Thane district.

After the attack by Naik, Shiv Sena had hit back at him and had accused him of using other means to try and divert attention from his own long-standing hold over the affairs of the city.

For the uninitiated, Shinde had been named the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after he toppled the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in June 2022. After the BJP won the maximum number of seats in the 2024 assembly elections in the state, he settled for the Deputy Chief Minister post next to Devendra Fadnavis as the Chief Minister of the state.