MUMBAI: After a 1.5-year deadlock, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has finally resolved the differences among the Mahayuti alliance partners over the appointment of guardian ministers for Nashik and Raigad districts.
BJP minister Girish Mahajan has been appointed guardian minister of Nashik, while Shiv Sena minister Bharat Gogawale has been given charge of Raigad.
NCP minister Aditi Tatkare, daughter of NCP Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare, was also seeking the Raigad guardian ministry, while senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal had sought charge of Nashik. Shiv Sena minister Dada Bhuse was also in the race for the Nashik post.
Fadnavis, however, decided to retain the Nashik guardian ministry with the BJP and appointed his close confidant Mahajan to the post. Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, meanwhile, succeeded in securing the Raigad guardian ministry for his party colleague Gogawale.
A political observer said the decision was a setback for the NCP, which has been left out of both appointments despite being one of the three partners in the Mahayuti government.
"After the demise of Ajit Pawar, the NCP is a headless chicken and is losing its voice in the government. Ajit Pawar held the Finance portfolio, and that should have remained with his wife, Sunetra Pawar, but Chief Minister Fadnavis refused to allocate it. Now, NCP minister Aditi Tatkare has been denied the Raigad guardian ministry, while Chhagan Bhujbal was left out of the race for Nashik. It is very discouraging for NCP leaders. The NCP is losing space in the government," the observer said.
The appointment of guardian ministers is politically significant as they oversee the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC) and play a key role in deciding the allocation of funds for development projects in their respective districts.
The guardian minister has a role in allocating funds for various development and beautification projects in the district.