Before the assembly elections in Maharashtra, a new controversy has arisen within the ruling Mahayuti regarding Ajit Pawar. Ajit Pawar left Sharad Pawar and joined hands with Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis and joined the Mahayuti government. Now because of Ajit Pawar, there are discussions that everything is not smooth in the Mahayuti. Now the tension between Ajit Pawar’s NCP and other parties of the Mahayuti – Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and BJP has increased over banner politics, which has become a new challenge for the Mahayuti for the upcoming assembly elections.
Shiv Sena’s excise minister Shambhuraj Desai has accused the NCP and its president Ajit Pawar of deliberately removing Shinde’s name from the promotion of the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Behan’ scheme. Desai says that removing the word ‘Chief Minister’ from the name of the scheme is against protocol and it is a big setback for the Shiv Sena. He said, “The name of the scheme is with ‘Chief Minister’, and it is unfair to remove its name. This is a state government scheme and Pawar should have taken everyone along.”
According to a report published in TOI last month, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar laid the foundation stone of development projects worth more than Rs 300 crore. The photos of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were also missing from the banner of this foundation stone laying ceremony. Former BJP MLA Jagdish Mulik has raised objection against this.
Mullick questioned, “Do only the BJP, Shiv Sena and RPI(A) have to follow coalition dharma and not others?” On August 18, local BJP leaders in Junnar waved black flags during Ajit Pawar’s ‘Jan Samman Yatra’ as the banners for the yatra did not have photos of Shinde and Fadnavis. These banners were put up by local NCP MLA Atul Benke for a meeting on tourism with administrative officials.
Only time will tell what the differences between NCP and other parties of Mahayuti will decide the direction of the alliance before the elections. But meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while speaking at the TV9 Marathi Conclave, commented on many issues like Mahayuti, Ajit Pawar, assembly elections. He was asked whether he made a mistake by forming an alliance with Ajit Pawar? On this, Devendra Fadnavis replied that it was the need of the hour.
Fadnavis said, “It will not be said that taking Ajit Pawar with us was a mistake. It was the need of the hour, so if the opportunity came when the need of the hour was there, how could we let it go.” Fadnavis stressed that NCP is not leaving the Mahayuti. He said that we are together in the Vidhan Sabha as well as in the Lok Sabha.