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Maharashtra Politics: Not even a month has passed since the formation of the grand alliance government in Maharashtra, but a tussle has started between the parties involved in this alliance over an issue. The issue is to appoint ‘District Palak (Guardian) Minister’. The Mahayuti government will appoint district guardian ministers in 36 districts of Maharashtra.
Let us tell you that after the election results, war has started between the parties of Mahayuti. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance won a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. But there was a lot of confusion among the parties involved in the Grand Alliance regarding first the selection of the Chief Minister and then the distribution of departments. Mainly Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was adamant about some of his demands. In Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde was angry with his selection for the post of Chief Minister and left his village.
After the Chief Minister’s issue was resolved, there was a lot of dispute between these three parties regarding the division of departments and due to this the work took more than 15 days. This sent a message that there is a fight going on between these parties regarding division and they want to capture all the important divisions. BJP got 20 ministerial posts in Maharashtra government, while Shiv Sena-NCP got 12 and 10 MLAs respectively.
Now let us talk about what is the whole issue of District Guardian Minister and why this post is so important that all three parties want to appoint their leaders on this post. The District Guardian Minister presides over the meetings of the District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC). The committee comprises MLAs, MPs and elected members of local bodies. This committee prepares schemes as per the guidelines of the state government.
Ayush Prasad, former CEO of Pune Zilla Parishad, told a private news agency that DPDC receives funds from the state government twice a year. This is 10 percent of the total budget of the state. The post of District Guardian Minister is given to those leaders who are senior cabinet level leaders. His job is to implement development schemes in the district. In a way, the District Patron Minister acts as a ‘point of contact’ between governance and party issues.
Now let us talk about in which district of Maharashtra there is a dispute between the parties involved in the Grand Alliance regarding the appointment of the District Guardian Minister.
There is chaos in Pune and Thane
Pune district is prominent among these. NCP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has won the elections from Baramati seat of Pune. He has been holding the post of District Guardian Minister for the last 20 years and wants to retain this post. NCP has made it clear that it will not give up its claim on this. Apart from this, a war is being seen in Thane between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s party Shiv Sena and BJP. Thane is the home area of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, here a fierce fight is going on between Eknath Shinde and BJP MLA Ganesh Naik.
There are four ministerial contenders in Satara
In Satara, four ministers of NCP, BJP and Shiv Sena want to become district guardian ministers. These leaders include the names of Shiv Sena MLA Shambhuraj Desai, BJP’s Shivendraraj Bhosale and Jaykumar Gore, NCP MLA Makrand Patil. Clashes are taking place between NCP and Shiv Sena ministers in Kolhapur and Ratnagiri districts. Hasan Mushrif and Shiv Sena MLA Prakash Amitkar are competing for the post in Kolhapur, while Shiv Sena ministers Uday Samant and Yogesh Kadam are competing for the post in Ratnagiri.
There is competition between these parties for the post of District Guardian Minister in Yavatmal and Sambhajinagar districts also. In Yavatmal, there is a triangular contest between BJP’s Umesh Uike, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Rathod and NCP’s Indranil Naik. Whereas in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat and BJP’s Atul Save are contesting for this post. Similarly, in Jalgaon, BJP MLA Sanjay Savkare is contesting against Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil for the post.
Dhananjay Munde’s opposition in Mahayuti itself
The biggest controversy is regarding Beed district. This is the home district of senior NCP leader Dhananjay Munde. Here, along with the opposition, Mahayuti leaders are also opposing Munde. Here BJP may make Pankaja Munde the guardian minister but Dhananjay Munde is considered close to both Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Now it remains to be seen whether the ongoing fight for the post of District Guardian Minister in Mahayuti will take a bigger shape or will the three parties together resolve this matter.
