Amid trouble in rebel Shiv Sena ranks, BJP beats Shinde camp in Maharashtra budget allocation
MUMBAI: One of the major grouses of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde against his former boss Uddhav Thackeray was that he was unable to get adequate budgetary funds for the Shiv Sena from the NCP.
That has not changed for the Shinde camp even after forming the government with the BJP. In the total Rs 25,000-crore supplementary budget allocation tabled on Monday, the BJP has a higher share of Rs 14,583 crore while the Shinde camp has to remain content with Rs 9,740 crore.
According to the supplementary budgetary data, the BJP-controlled departments garnered more funds.
BJP’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, passed Rs 1,593-crore budget to his department.
He also controls the cooperation department, which has got an allocation of Rs 5,145 crore. The BJP-controlled Women and Child Development got Rs 1,672 crore, while OBC and Bahujan development received Rs 295 crore.
On the other hand, the Shinde-controlled urban development department got Rs 1,886 crore, and the local body development department Rs 840 crore, while the health department got a Rs 2,237 crore allocation.
The Public Works Department controlled by Shinde got an allocation of Rs 4,295 crore while the school education department got Rs 12 crore.
Shiv Sena MLA Aditya Thackeray, who has been travelling across the state, said the Sena MLAs who cheated them have got nothing even after switching sides.
Leader of Opposition and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said the supplementary budget allocation data “exposes” the Shinde claims.
“The BJP has the upper hand in the budget allocations in the new government. In the Maha Vikas Aghadi, I increased the MLA fund from Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore. I never discriminated while allocating funds to any department,” Pawar said.
A senior BJP leader sought to justify the tilt in the budget allocations, saying since the party has “bigger departments” so naturally these would get more funds.
Meanwhile, rebel Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat rued the alleged lack of respect for seniority in politics after a BJP MLA with whose father he claimed he had worked earlier was made cabinet minister in the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra.
Speaking at a public function connected to road works here on Sunday, Shirsat, who had joined the Shinde camp in the early days of the Sena rebellion in June, sounded disgruntled at not being made a minister.
Incidentally, state Cooperative Minister Atul Save, of the BJP, was the chief guest.
"I have worked with Atul Save's father (Moreshwar Save, former two-time Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP from Aurangabad). When I was working with his father, I never thought he (Atul Save) would come into politics," Shirsat said.
"He (Atul Save) became a minister in the earlier government and has now become a cabinet minister. It seems there is nothing left called seniority," the Aurangabad West MLA said.
Atul Save was inducted into the Shinde government on August 9, when the cabinet was expanded for the first time since the new dispensation came to power on June 30.
BJP eye on seats unnerves rebel MPs
The rebel Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MPs are getting rattled with the aggressive approach being shown by the BJP in their constituencies. Newly-appointed state BJP head Chandrashekar Bawankule has said the party will focus on the seats that belong to the MPs who joined CM Eknath Shinde, and that after the next poll, these constituencies will have BJP MPs.
Union Law Minister Satyapal Singh Bhagle, who has been given the responsibility of Kolhapur district for 2024, on Monday said BJP will win the seat. BJP is targeting 45 out of total 48 LS seats in the state.
Calling it “unfair”, a rebel Sena MP said, “We helped BJP come to power but they plan to end our careers.” BJP leaders say they have told the leadership to go soft.
“We have to strengthen the party base, but it should not be done by scaring the existing MPs,” a leader added.
(With PTI Inputs)
