2022: Shiv Sena alleges that Ajit Pawar is discriminating in granting funds to departments held by its ministers.
2025: Shiv Sena alleges that Ajit Pawar is discriminating in granting funds to departments held by its ministers.
Over the last three years, Maharashtra politics has witnessed tremendous upheaval, leading to a change of power and the bifurcation of two prominent parties. However, one thing has remained constant — Shiv Sena’s grudge against the NCP. The Shiv Sena ministers are experiencing déjà vu.
In the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government — of which the undivided Shiv Sena was a part — Ajit Pawar held the finance portfolio and was accused of skewed fund distribution. In fact, the uneven allocation of funds was cited as one of the reasons by Eknath Shinde’s camp to break away from the MVA. Once again, acrimony among the constituents of Mahayuti has come to the fore, with leaders of Shiv Sena and NCP publicly voicing their resentment.
The Mahayuti government’s Ladki Bahin Yojana is one of the primary causes of the present discord between the two alliance partners. Under this scheme, ₹1,500 is paid monthly to eligible women in the state. It served as a catalyst for Mahayuti’s campaign in the last assembly polls and helped it return to power. However, it has now become a pebble in the shoe for the tripartite alliance.
To sustain the scheme and manage the financial burden, the government has discontinued several other initiatives and diverted funds from various departments to meet the monthly payouts. This diversion has not gone down well with the Shiv Sena.
Sanjay Shirsat, the social justice minister and a confidant of Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, couldn’t restrain his anguish and publicly targeted Ajit Pawar. He claimed that funds worth ₹400 crore meant for schemes related to SCs and STs were diverted by Pawar without his knowledge. He went on to suggest that the social justice department should be shut down if no funds are allotted to it. Other ministers from the Shiv Sena quota have expressed similar grievances.
The NCP has refuted the allegations and reminded that, while presenting the budget last month, Ajit Pawar had emphasised the need for “financial discipline.”
The ongoing tussle between the two parties has surfaced on several occasions. Last Sunday, Ajit Pawar organised a function in Pune to felicitate former Chief Ministers. However, Eknath Shinde skipped it, citing a busy schedule. Ajit Pawar retaliated by remaining absent from the Mahabaleshwar Fest organised by Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraje Desai.
Apart from funding issues, the two parties are also at loggerheads over the issue of guardian ministers. Both parties have staked claim to the guardian minister’s post for Nashik and Raigad districts. CM Devendra Fadnavis, who had issued a list of guardian ministers two months ago for districts across Maharashtra, has kept the decision on these two districts in abeyance. However, when Aditi Tatkare from the NCP was assigned the responsibility of flag hoisting on Maharashtra Day, it was strongly protested by the Shiv Sena.
The opposition party, Shiv Sena (UBT), has seized the opportunity to target Eknath Shinde’s breakaway faction. In an editorial published in Saamna, the party mocked Shinde, claiming his faction is feeling throttled in the Mahayuti, as Ajit Pawar has enforced financial discipline and CM Fadnavis has put an end to the reign of contractors. Vinayak Raut, former MP and a confidant of Uddhav Thackeray, even extended an invitation to Ajit Pawar to join the MVA.
“The government is safe, but not the alliance,” is the general observation of political pundits in Maharashtra. Even if one party exits Mahayuti, Fadnavis has enough numbers to remain CM. However, frequent reports of acrimony between the Shiv Sena and NCP continue to reflect poorly on his government.
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