The Maharashtra Budget session begins today amid speculations that everything is not going well within the ruling Mahayuti. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has skipped several meetings chaired by CM Devendra Fadnavis in the past and is said to be running a parallel government. However, the Mahayuti leaders on Sunday led a show of unity as they addressed a joint press conference on the eve of the Budget session.
Speaking to reporters, both Shinde and Fadnavis ruled out any rift in Mahayuti. “we are together…There is tension and resentment among the opposition,” said Fadnavis, adding that the opposition leaders are struggling to find issues against the ruling regime.
On the other hand, Shinde said that there is no cold war as reported by the media and the Mahayuti stands united. “This is the second session of our government. Only we (Devendra Fadnavis and I) have changed roles. But yes, Ajit Dada’s role is constant…We have started many projects that were stopped by the MVA government. Ajit Dada will present the Maharashtra budget. 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?” Shinde said.
The press conference witnessed the cracking of jokes and the exchange of pleasantries among three Mahayuti leaders – Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar. “The budget session of the state legislature is starting tomorrow. This is the second session of the Grand Alliance government and the first budget session of the new government after the assembly election. Only two of us (Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis) have swapped the chairs but Ajit Pawar’s chair (as the Deputy Chief Minister) is fixed,” said Shinde.
Even before Shinde could complete his sentence, Ajit Pawar took his mike in his hands and replied, “You (Eknath Shinde) could not protect your chair and keep your chair (of the Chief Minister’s post) fixed, what can I do about it.” That led to laughter in the auditorium as the trio also burst into laughter and enjoyed the moment.
Shinde, who headed the MahaYuti government between June 2022 and November 2024, aspired to continue as the chief minister after MahaYuti formed the government, following its stellar performance. However, Fadnavis, who joined Shinde’s government as the deputy chief minister at the directives of the party’s senior leadership, took over as the chief minister in the wake of the emergency of the BJP as the single largest party.
Shinde was left with no choice but to join as the Deputy Chief Minister along with Ajit Pawar. In this contest, Shinde made his statement today reiterating that despite the change in posts, the MahaYuti is quite strong and united. Fadnavis also came to Shinde’s support saying that they are working as a team to take Maharashtra forward. “Our chair is rotating one,” he said.
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