Mumbai: In his first press conference after taking oath on Thursday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis used a cricketing analogy to drive home his point that the new govt would be a stable govt. “Earlier when Eknath Shinde and I led the govt, it was a 50-over match. Then, when Ajit Pawar entered, it was 20-20 cricket. Now we are playing a Test match,” he said.
Fadnavis said his priority would be to stick to the mandate of the people. “There will be no political shocks as we saw between 2019 and 2022,” he said, referring to the formation of the MVA alliance and the split of the Shiv Sena and NCP.
He said the role of the three partners might have changed, but the direction of the govt and its coordination remained the same. He said the portfolio allocation was in its final stages and cabinet expansion would take place before the winter session of the assembly. He did not reveal who would get the coveted home and finance portfolios. “These will remain in the govt and will be run by the govt,” he said.
Fadnavis said there were unlikely to be major changes in portfolio distribution between the three partners. “We are evaluating the performance of those who occupied ministries. There is nothing called a senior citizen. As long as the public elects them, no one is old or retired,” he said.
Although opposition leaders stayed away from the oath ceremony, Fadnavis said they all congratulated him. “I called them to personally invite them, and they congratulated me. I am happy that in Maharashtra, the political dialogue is not over,” he said.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray‘s remark that either he or Fadnavis would remain in politics, he said: “We will all be there.”
Fadnavis emphasised that the Mahayuti govt would continue with the Mukhya Mantri Ladki Bahin Yojana for underprivileged women, considered to be a key factor behind its victory. He said the stipend would be raised from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 per month as promised in the Mahayuti manifesto. “We will have to raise resources and provide for the Rs 2,100 stipend in the budget,” he said. He said the stipend would bring not only social gains but also economic returns.
He admitted that the govt would have to work on its fiscal discipline. “We increased the spending on the social sector four to five times because of our schemes, but these will bring returns,” he said.
He said the govt priorities would be its river-linking schemes, solar power scheme for farmers, and past projects like its water conservation scheme, Jalyutka Shivar. He said the BJP position on caste census was that it should not be used as a political weapon.
He said the Mahayuti govt provided Maratha reservation and still supported it.