The rift between the two Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra seems to have widened with both Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar skipping events organised by each other's parties or departments.
Ajit Pawar was not present at the Mahabaleshwar Mahotsav, organised by the Tourism Department, which is held by Shiv Sena's Shambhuraje Desai, even though Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was present. Minister of State for the department and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Indranil Naik was also absent.
Another event seen to reflect the cold war was 'Gauravshali Maharashtra', organised by the NCP to felicitate all previous chief ministers of Maharashtra. While Sharad Pawar stayed away from the event and Uddhav Thackeray did not attend as he was travelling, Mr Shinde - chief minister in the previous government - did not attend either.
Sharad Pawar had already said there was no question of him going to the event. But Mr Shinde skipping the event signals that the two Deputy CMs are not seeing eye to eye. Mr Shinde had been Maharashtra's Chief Minister between 2022 and 2024, but after the 2024 state Assembly elections, Devendra Fadnavis returned to the top state post.
Adding fuel to the fire was an outburst by Sanjay Shirsat, who is the Minister for Social Justice from Shiv Sena. Mr Shirsat has accused Ajit Pawar of diverting Rs 413 crore from his department without any prior consultation or approval. He said he would raise the issue with Mr Shinde and Mr Fadnavis, alleging that the finance department, helmed by Ajit Pawar, is weakening the department responsible for the welfare of backward classes in the state.
A comment made in a lighter vein has also led to speculation. "For several years, I have been feeling that I should also be chief minister, but that has not happened yet," Ajit Pawar said recently. Responding to this, Saamana, the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s mouthpiece took a dig at the NCP chief saying the partners in the Mahayuti alliance are involved in proxy war and all the top leaders want to become the chief minister.
Mr Shinde is believed to be upset with Ajit Pawar and reportedly raised the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to Maharashtra last month. He reportedly complained about Ajit Pawar to Mr Shah for not clearing Shiv Sena's ministers' and MLAs' development funds.
Ajit Pawar had downplayed the feud reports and said, "I do not think that Eknath Shinde would complain against me to Amit Shah. I am sure if he has any issue, he will raise it with me. We regularly meet in cabinet and have other key meetings. If there are any issues, they can be resolved through the dialogue."
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi says because of the infighting, government work is suffering and there is no coordination between ministers and departments.
