'Toppled those who took me lightly': Eknath Shinde amid rift rumors with Fadnavis

Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said nobody should take him lightly, and made a veiled reference to the toppling of the MVA government amid talk of a growing rift with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Eknath Shinde, while speaking to the reporters, warned, "Do not take me lightly;I have already said this to those who have taken me lightly. I am a normal party worker, but I am a worker of Bala Saheb, and everyone should take me with this understanding. "

He continued, "When you took it lightly in 2022, the horse turned around, and I changed the government; we brought the government of the wishes of the common people." "In 2022, I toppled the cart of those who took me lightly, and we brought in a new government that stayed in the people’s hearts,” Shinde said, apparently referring to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. In my first speech in the VidhanSabha, I said that Devendra Fadnavis ji would get more than 200 seats, and we got 232 seats. That is why do not take me lightly; those who want to understand this hint, they should understand it, and I will continue doing my work," Shinde added, asserting his political influence and commitment to serving the people of Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, both Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis have denied that there is discord, but recent developments suggested there are simmering tensions. Eknath Shinde has also stayed away from several meetings convened by Fadnavis, including the Nashik Regional Development Authority meeting to discuss preparations for the 2027 Kumbh Mela in the north Maharashtra city. He held a separate meeting in Nashik where BJP minister Girish Mahajan was absent.After Fadnavis held a review meeting of the Industries department, Shinde held another meeting recently.

The industries department is headed by Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant. The buzz about the relations being under growing strain became louder when the Home department, headed by Fadnavis, downgraded or took away the police security of 20 Shiv Sena MLAs. They had been given security cover after the Sena split in 2022.

In another related development, the Mumbai police have arrested two persons from Buldhana in connection with an email threatening to bomb the car of the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister.
The accused were identified as Mangesh Achyutrao Wayal (35) and Abhay Gajanan Shingane (22). Both are residents of Deulgaon Mahi Buldhana and were apprehended from Buldhana's Deulgaon district in Maharashtra.

*With Agency Inputs