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Mumbai: Portfolios have finally been allocated, but now there is a tussle in Mahayuti over posts of guardian ministers. Sena ministers Bharat Gogawale and Sanjay Shirsat have already staked claim to Raigad and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, respectively, but some from NCP and BJP are also eyeing those districts. There are 42 ministers, but 12 districts don’t have representation in govt. Many districts have multiple ministers, leading to a fight over them.
Guardian ministers control District Planning and Development Council funds, which are used for various development and beautification projects in districts. They also preside over Independence Day and Republic Day events.
Sena minister Shambhujraj Desai claimed there was no tussle over ministerial berths, portfolio allocation or over guardian minister posts. State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said govt will prevent any dispute over guardian minister posts.
There are no Sena or NCP ministers from Mumbai. It is expected that BJP’s Ashish Shelar will be guardian minister of Mumbai suburban and Mangal Prabhat Lodha of Mumbai city. But, Sena is keen on having at least one guardian minister in Mumbai and may insist on giving the post to an ‘outsider’, as was done in the previous govt, when Sena’s Deepak Kesarkar, an MLA from Sawantwadi, was picked for Mumbai city.
Responding to Shirsat’s claim that “only a formal announcement” of his appointment was pending, Atul Save, BJP minister from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said, “We will accept any decision our seniors in Mahayuti make. CM Devendra Fadnavis has shown great faith in me. I have been given the responsibility of three departments.”
In Raigad, NCP’s Aditi Tatkare looks poised to lock horns with Gogawale. NCP minister Manikrao Kokate said the party has the right to the post as it has seven MLAs from the district, while BJP has five and Shiv Sena two. He said NCP will continue its claim over Nashik.
There is a tussle over Satara, too. Of its eight MLAs, four are now ministers.
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