MUMBAI: After cabinet expansions and portfolio allocations, a slugfest is on among MahaYuti alliance partners over getting the guardian ministry of districts in Maharashtra.
A guardian minister is the de facto head of a district. The person also decides allocations of development funds in district planning committees. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde wants the guardian ministry of Thane. The other DCM, Ajit Pawar, eyes Pune. But the BJP wants to retain both districts.
In Maharashtra, the guardian ministries of metro cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Nagpur, Kolhapur, are sought after.
The Beed district, which came into limelight after the murder of Massajog village Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, is also in demand. NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, hailing from there, wants it. So does BJP minister Pankaja Munde. BJP MLAs from Beed have since asked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to accept the guardian ministry so that no Munde gets it.
Aware of the jostling, Fadnavis on Tuesday hinted no one should take for granted that ministers will get guardian ministries of their choice.
Sources said Fadnavis wants to see no one will dominate any district. “In Thane, DCM Eknath Shinde is eager to get guardian ministry, but BJP is also pushing for its minister Ganesh Naik so that the party will control Thane and cut to size Shinde’s dominance. The ministry can be used to expand the party base for electoral reasons.”
Beed district in demand
The Beed district, which came into limelight after the murder of Massajog village Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, is also in demand. NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, hailing from there, wants the district and so does BJP minister Pankaja Munde.