Ravindra Chavan likely to lead state BJP
BJP MLA and former minister Ravindra Chavan, currently serving as the working president of the Maharashtra BJP, will likely be elevated as state president ahead of the local body elections. His name figured among the potential chief ministerial candidates, alongside Minister for State and Lok Sabha MP Muralidhar Mohal as a prominent Maratha face when Mahayuti came to power. Chavan not only lost the chief ministerial race, but also failed to get the ministerial berth in the Fadnavis cabinet. However, as a consolation, he was appointed as working president of the BJP under the Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
Defying govt, PAs, OSDs persist in their roles
The ministers in Mahayuti had recommended the appointments of their PAs and officers on special duty, but the ministers mostly Shiv Sena and NCP’s recommended names were either put on hold or got rejected by the state general administration department unofficially citing past bad records. CM Devendra Fadnavis said that there were some PAs and OSD who worked as fixers in the previous government; these unofficially blacklisted people will not get the appointments in his government. Despite this, several PAs and OSDs who are not officially appointed, are still working and functioning as PAs and OSDS and handling govt files.
Hindi dominates official communication in Maha
Although state education minister Dada Bhuse recently rolled back the decision to make Hindi a third language in schools due to public backlash, the alliance parties of the BJP-led Mahayuti are now using Hindi extensively for official communication. Previously, govt press notes were issued in Marathi, but they are now also being published in Hindi. The move seems aimed at garnering more attention in the Hindi-speaking regions and signalling to the party leadership. While schools may have postponed the decision to introduce Hindi as a third language, the state govt has embraced Hindi as their primary mode of communication.
Sudhir Suryawanshi
Our correspondent in Maharashtra
suryawanshi.sudhir@gmail.com