POLITICS
Shinde comes into his own? CM takes centrestage with ‘personal outreach’ to Maratha quota activist
- Admin
- Sep 16, 2023
Shinde comes into his own? CM takes centrestage with ‘personal outreach’ to Maratha quota activist
In June 2022, Shinde toppled MVA government and became the chief minister with the BJP's help. However, Fadnavis was widely believed to be running the show.
the poster boy of the Maratha reservation issue, broke his indefinite fast Thursday morning when Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde personally intervened, visiting the Antarwali-Sarati village in Jalna district and offering a glass of juice to the activist.
The two-week deadlock ended with Shinde assuring the activist that the government was committed to providing quota to Marathas in government jobs and education.
Jarange-Patil said Shinde also assured him his demands would be accepted.
Added Shinde, “We are committed to restoring quota for the Maratha community in jobs and education. Marathas are a disciplined and sensitive community.”
Amid all this, both of Shinde’s deputies, Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were conspicuous by their absence, though the CM was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve, Maharashtra ministers Sandipan Bhumre, Uday Samant, Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) leader Arjun Khotkar, and NCP MLA Rajesh Tope from the Sharad Pawar faction.
This is a far cry from last year, when Shinde was made the chief minister but Fadnavis, his deputy, was said to be running the government.
Political analyst Hemant Desai told ThePrint that Shinde has taken the centrestage in this episode. “Jarange-Patil has also shown faith in Shinde over the deputies. He had consistently said that they trust only the CM to solve the matter. And especially after the police action, Fadnavis slowly receded into the background,” Desai said.
However, political analyst Prakash Bal sees this as another episode in the ‘cold war’ between Shinde and Fadnavis. “In my opinion, this entire issue (of police action on Maratha quota protesters) was to put Fadnavis in trouble and is another episode in the cold war between Shinde and Fadnavis,” Bal said to ThePrint.
“There was no real reason for him [Fadnavis] to not go to Jalna. He might have realised that and hence kept quiet. Initially, he had sent his trusted aide, Girish Mahajan, to hold talks. But later, Sena leaders like (Sandipan) Bhumre and Arjun Khotkar took matters into their hands,” Bal added.
Jarange-Patil said Shinde also assured him his demands would be accepted.
Added Shinde, “We are committed to restoring quota for the Maratha community in jobs and education. Marathas are a disciplined and sensitive community.”
Amid all this, both of Shinde’s deputies, Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were conspicuous by their absence, though the CM was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve, Maharashtra ministers Sandipan Bhumre, Uday Samant, Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) leader Arjun Khotkar, and NCP MLA Rajesh Tope from the Sharad Pawar faction.
This is a far cry from last year, when Shinde was made the chief minister but Fadnavis, his deputy, was said to be running the government.
Political analyst Hemant Desai told ThePrint that Shinde has taken the centrestage in this episode. “Jarange-Patil has also shown faith in Shinde over the deputies. He had consistently said that they trust only the CM to solve the matter. And especially after the police action, Fadnavis slowly receded into the background,” Desai said.
However, political analyst Prakash Bal sees this as another episode in the ‘cold war’ between Shinde and Fadnavis. “In my opinion, this entire issue (of police action on Maratha quota protesters) was to put Fadnavis in trouble and is another episode in the cold war between Shinde and Fadnavis,” Bal said to ThePrint.
“There was no real reason for him [Fadnavis] to not go to Jalna. He might have realised that and hence kept quiet. Initially, he had sent his trusted aide, Girish Mahajan, to hold talks. But later, Sena leaders like (Sandipan) Bhumre and Arjun Khotkar took matters into their hands,” Bal added.
