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Eknath Shinde rejected rift rumours in the state’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, saying the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP’s partnership “will not break”.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis along with deputy CM Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Ajit Pawar. (Image: X/@EknathShinde)
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday refuted the ongoing speculations regarding a possible rift within the ruling Mahayuti alliance and said that everything was “thanda thanda and cool cool” between him, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
“No matter how hard you try to create breaking news by suggesting conflicts, our alliance is not going to break,” Shinde said while addressing a joint conference alongside Fadnavis and Pawar.
He further rejected claims of friction among the alliance partners and said, “How can there be a Cold War in such scorching heat? Everything is thanda thanda, cool cool between us.” Listening to this, Fadnavis, who was sitting next to him, smiled.
Notably, Shinde’s remarks came days after he said “don’t take me lightly”, hinting that he was the reason behind the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government in 2022.
“Do not take me lightly; I have already said this to those who have taken me lightly. I am a normal party worker, but I am a worker of Bala Saheb, and everyone should take me with this understanding. When you took it lightly in 2022, I changed the government; we brought the government of the wishes of the common people,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The speculations regarding the discord became the talk of the town after Shinde skipped a few meetings called by Chief Minister Fadnavis. Following this, it was rumoured that Shinde was reportedly upset with the BJP for being denied the top post.
Fadnavis Attacks Opposition
Attacking the Opposition for not attending the pre-session meeting of the Maharashtra’s budget session, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Today we had invited the opposition for ‘Chahapan’ (snack meeting before the budget session) but they boycotted it. They held a meeting in which none of their big leaders came.”
“The budget session is going to start tomorrow. The Opposition has given us a 9-page letter. The situation in the Opposition is ‘Hum aapke hai kaun?’, not ‘Hum Sath Sath hain’. They had an opportunity for fluent conversation, but they did not attend the ‘Chahapan’ (snack meeting before the budget session). The letter they gave us is only based on newspaper articles. We will give the Opposition a long time to speak in House,” he added.
