Although Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remained silent on the Pune guardian minister on Wednesday, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said there was no question of giving up its claim.
“Pune is important for our party. Our party president has been the parent minister of Pune for years. Even though we formed a grand coalition government with the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and Shiv Sena, Ajit Pawar became the parent minister,” NCP spokesperson Sanjay Tatkare said.
At a press conference in Nagpur on Wednesday, Fadnavis did not touch on the issue of guardian minister in Pune, though he did talk about the role of guardian minister for himself in Gadchiroli and Beed.
BJP has the highest number of MLAs in Pune district. Out of 21 assembly seats in Pune district, BJP has nine MLAs while NCP has seven MLAs. BJP leaders say they have a rightful claim in Pune district.
Grand Alliance Agreement of 2023
In 2023, before Ajit Pawar became the Pune District Guardian Minister, BJP’s Chandrakant Patil was the District Guardian Minister. However, Patil made way for Ajit Pawar as per the grand alliance pact, where the NCP was given a bigger role.
Earlier this week, when asked whether the BJP would claim the district guardianship of Pune, Patil said: “This decision will be taken by the leaders of all the three parties.”
NCP leaders said that since Ajit Pawar was already the deputy chief minister, it would seem strange to appoint someone else as the district guardian minister of Pune. “How can Ajit Pawar, who is the Deputy Chief Minister, play second fiddle to DPDC meetings? He will be an automatic choice for the district guardian minister,” NCP leader Yogesh Bahl said.
Tatkare said that the competition for the district’s parent minister post is going on, but the decision will be made only in the first week of January. “I don’t think there will be any decision in this regard this week. It will be only in the first week of January. The decision will be taken after discussing with the top leaders of all the three parties,” he said.
Meanwhile, NCP (SP) Beed MP Bajrang Sonwane said: “Ajit Pawar should take charge of Beed district and arrest the real culprits of the murder of Masajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Ajit Pawar’s party has three MLAs, it should claim the guardian minister. If Ajit Pawar is the guardian minister, we No objection.
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