Upset with the manner in which the ruling BJP is poaching its leaders and workers in the run-up to the local body elections, ministers from the ruling Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) boycotted the State Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday. However, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is the founder-president of the Shinde Sena, attended the meeting.
The peeved Shinde Sena ministers have reached out to Fadnavis and expressed their displeasure over the recent defections from Shinde Sena to the BJP in Kalyan-Dombivli.
Incidentally, the State BJP President Ravindra Chavan — the brain behind the recent defections — hails from Dombivli. On his part, Fadnavis has made it clear to the Shinde-led party that it was the Shiv Sena (Shinde) which first admitted BJP members in its fold in Ulhasnagar. In an effort to resolve the crisis, State Industry Minister Uday Samant is meeting Chavan to resolve the crisis.
Though he attended Tuesday’s State Cabinet meeting and the sub-committee meetings later, Shinde has refrained from commenting on the crisis. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is the NCP President, also chose not to speak on the issue.
Meanwhile, hitting out at the ruling BJP and Shinde Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray said: “They didn’t go! Why? Because they’re angry! Terribly angry! At the Chief Minister and the BJP! Over the seat allocation in the elections and supposedly because they’re trying to split their party.
This is what they call the thief making a racket to cover up! But boycotting the cabinet meeting for their selfish interests is an insult to Maharashtra and its people! Cabinet meetings are meant to solve the people’s issues, not to handle your petty squabbles! How is this governance going on?! All of this is worrisome for Maharashtra”. “The strength of the members in the cabinet meeting was less. Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present. There are no problems in the ruling MahaYuti coalition,” State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule of the BJP said.
Maintaining that there was no dispute in the ruling MahaYuti, Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan said: "You cannot call it a boycott of Cabinet meetings as the majority of ministers were present," he added. Following the Shinde Sena ministers’ boycott of the State Cabinet, Bawankule is meeting Shinde to resolve the crisis.
The peeved Shinde Sena ministers have reached out to Fadnavis and expressed their displeasure over the recent defection