After the long-delayed portfolio sharing announcement by the Mahayutia government on Saturday, a fresh tussle appears to have erupted among allies over the appointment of a parent minister with several contenders for prestigious posts in various districts.
Maharashtra currently has 42 ministers including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. The race for the post of parent minister has intensified in at least 11 districts including Nashik, Jalgaon, Raigad, Satara, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Thane, Sambhaji Nagar, Beed, Pune and Kolhapur.
The role of the parent minister is crucial as he controls the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC) funds earmarked for development and beautification.
Army Minister Bharat Gogawale and NCP Minister Aditi Tatkare are vying for the post in Raigad. Gogawale said, ‘We have three ministers in Raigad. Last time the army got the position, now as a minister I expect to become the guardian minister.”
In Nashik, there is a contest between NCP’s Manikrao Kokate and Shinde Sena’s Dada Bhuse. “With seven MLAs from Nashik, the NCP has a strong claim for the post,” Kokate emphasized the NCP’s claim.
The contest is similar in Sambhaji Nagar, where Sena’s Sanjay Shirsat and BJP’s Atul Save are contenders. Shirsat said, ‘My appointment is yet to be formally announced.
The most heated battle is in Satara where four ministers are vying for the post. Similarly, in Beed, there is a contest between NCP’s Dhananjaya Munde and BJP’s Pankaja Munde, while in Jalgaon, there is a contest between Sena’s Gulabrao Patil and BJP’s Girish Mahajan. Sindhudurg and Thane districts are also witnessing controversies, with notable contenders including Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and BJP’s Ganesh Naik.
Minister Pratap Saranaik expressed his party’s preference for Shinde and said, “We feel that the post of guardian minister should remain with Shinde Saheb.”
However, BJP state president Chandrasekhar Bawankule and Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai denied the tension. Bawankule said, “There will be no conflict between the coalition regarding the parenting minister and the process will proceed smoothly”.
In Mumbai, which has only two BJP ministers – Mangalprabhat Lodha and Ashish Shelar, Lodha is expected to be appointed for Mumbai city and Shelar for Mumbai suburbs. However, the Shiv Sena is reportedly keen on making a guardian minister from outside Mumbai, as seen earlier with Deepak Kesarkar.
After such a large majority in the election, only a few of them are selected for ministerial posts and departments are allocated according to their experience. Some districts have more than one minister. There are four ministers each in Satara and Pune. In such a situation, the parent minister is questioned. It’s not easy. However, now that the department has been distributed, the post of the parent minister will also be distributed soon, I think,’ said Minister Chandrakant Patil.
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