State Congress chief said the public is wondering if the struggle to place people in “lucrative positions” was a “government functioning or a turf war”. The appointment of two different officials as the general manager of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has sparked fresh buzz of a rift between Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde.
The Opposition has targeted the Maharashtra government over the appointment and claimed it was the result of a tussle between Fadnavis and Shinde. The BEST’s general manager post went vacant after incumbent SVR Shrinivas retired on Tuesday. Following this, the general administration department, led by Fadnavis, gave GST commissioner Ashish Sharma an additional charge of the post. Meanwhile. the Shinde-led urban development department appointed Mumbai additional commissioner Ashwini Joshi to the same post.
‘1 post, 2 orders, 2 leaders’
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal took to X and shared the two orders, “1 post, 2 orders, 2 leaders, is this a double gang war of the double engine government?” He claimed that a “gang war” was going on between the Maharashtra chief minister and his deputy over the transfer of officials. He added that the public is wondering if the struggle to place people in “lucrative positions” was a “government functioning or a turf war”.
NCP(SP) leader Rohit Pawar also took a jibe at the NDA-led government over the issue and wrote on X, “As soon as the post of General Manager in BEST became vacant, it seems a race has begun between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to place ‘their’ person in this position.”
Pawar added that with two people being given additional charge to the same post, the Mahayuti alliance’s “tug-of-war” has come into the open. “But now the attention of BEST employees is focused on when two chairs will be placed in a single cabin,” he said.
This is not the first time that speculations over a rift in the Mahayuti alliance have surfaced. In February this year, a rift was reportedly growing between Fadnavis and Shinde, which was rooted in the post-assembly election scenario, wherein Shinde believed that he was wronged by being denied the CM’s post in the Mahayuti alliance government.
Shinde was also denied the home portfolio, among other decisions that did not go his way.
Days later, the rumours were put to rest by Eknath Shinde, who said that the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP partnership “will not break”. “No matter how much breaking news you give, we (Mahayuti) will not break. What is the cold war? There is nothing like that. In this scorching heat of Maharashtra… how is a cold war possible?” the Shiv Sena chief said.
Again in April, several eyebrows were raised at Eknath Shinde’s back-to-back meetings with union home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah during the latter’s Maharashtra visit. Shinde reportedly met Shah to complain about how he and his party were being sidelined by the other two parties of the Mahayuti alliance, even though he played a key role in their victory in the state assembly polls held in November 2024.
Shinde had reportedly raised concerns about the brewing rift between him, Fadnavis and Pawar. The Shiv Sena was also upset over the delay in deciding the guardian ministership of Raigad and Nashik, the CMO’s interference in decisions and policies relating to portfolios held by the party and the problem in the release of funds.
However, speaking to reporters, Shinde ruled out any such buzz of a rift between the ruling alliance. “Ours is a party that believes in work and not grumbling. Even if there are any issues, we resolve them by discussing within the alliance. There is nothing wrong in meeting Amitbhai, who is the leader of the Mahayuti and the NDA,” he added.
