Mumbai:

Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis met outgoing Shiv Sena boss Eknath Shinde in Mumbai Tuesday evening, amid continuing suspense, and an absorbing tug-of-war, over the identity of the next Maharashtra Chief Minister. The meeting is being seen as an outreach by the BJP – to placate an ally who will likely be removed from the top post despite leading a government that was re-elected.

The big decision is expected within 24 hours; the BJP’s newly elected MLAs are meeting tonight – with Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and ex-Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as ‘observers’ from the central leadership – to choose a legislature party leader, who will then become the new Chief Minister.

The smart money is on Mr Fadnavis, a two-time former Chief Minister and the man widely credited with orchestrating the BJP’s comeback, including hobbling the formerly undivided Sena and NCP and picking up the pieces; the breakaway factions added 75 seats to the BJP’s tally in this election.

However, for Mr Fadnavis to return to the top post Eknath Shinde must be persuaded to stand down, and possibly even accept a deputy’s berth, like the BJP leader did in 2022. And it is at that point the BJP’s plans to reclaim power in Maharashtra, without again antagonising a Sena ally, have hit a snag.

The Eknath Shinde Factor

Last week Mr Shinde, after days of public posturing, backed down. He said he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he would not be an “obstacle” to a BJP Chief Minister.

READ | “Won’t Obstruct”: In Maharashtra Race, E Shinde Leaves It To BJP

However, there remains a feeling that Mr Shinde and his party are displeased at being told to stand down. Mr Shinde’s absence from Mumbai last week – he retreated to his hometown in Satara district – raised eyebrows, as did the BJP simultaneously announcing a swearing-in date – December 5.

There was more drama this afternoon after Mr Shinde was admitted to a hospital in Thane, where he has been based since returning from Satara. The Sena leader, however, played down talk of an emergency – his team called it a “routine check-up” – and said, “sab badiya hain (everything is fine).”

And while Mr Shinde has made all the right noises, some within his party have not. Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar has reminded the BJP the election was fought under the Mr Shinde’s leadership.

“Now it is up to the BJP’s central leadership to decide how to maintain his stature.”

‘1+2’ Formula To Continue?

Sources have told NDTV over the past week the existing 1+2 formula established after the mid-term switch, i.e., a Chief Minister and two deputies, will continue, except the ‘1’ will be from the BJP.

The Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction will each name a Deputy Chief Minister. To sweeten the deal, the former will get 12 portfolios, including, possibly, the covered Urban Development, Public Works Department, and Water Resources ministries. The latter will get nine, including Finance.

READ | Maharashtra Chief Minister From BJP, Will Have 2 Deputies: Sources

This also means Mr Pawar will likely return as Deputy Chief Minister. But it is unclear if Eknath Shinde will be happy with that ‘demotion’. A possible workaround had been suggested – that he could get a union ministerial berth and his son, Shrikant Shinde, could become the Deputy Chief Minister.

READ | E Shinde’s Son Junks Deputy Buzz In Maharashtra Race

Shinde junior, however, has rubbished, at least publicly, that idea.

महायुतीच्या सरकारचा शपथविधी थोडा लांबल्यामुळे सध्या चर्चा आणि अफवा यांचे पीक फोफावले आहे. काळजीवाहू मुख्यमंत्री मा. श्री एकनाथ शिंदे यांनी प्रकृती अस्वास्थ्यामुळे दोन दिवस गावी जाऊन विश्रांती घेतली. त्यामुळे अफवांना अधिकच बहर आला. मी उपमुख्यमंत्री होणार अशा बातम्या प्रश्नचिन्हे…

— Dr Shrikant Lata Eknath Shinde (@DrSEShinde) December 2, 2024

“… there is no truth in it… the news about my taking up post of Deputy Chief Minister is baseless”.

Maharashtra Assembly Election Recap

The BJP, Mr Shinde’s Sena and Mr Pawar’s NCP, registered a landslide win when votes were counted November 23, even if the Congress and the opposing Maha Vikas Aghadi has cried foul since.

As the single largest party in the Assembly, the BJP is widely seen as having the edge in the chief ministerial race; it won 132 of 288 seats. The Sena is second with 57 and the NCP is third with 41.

The BJP, therefore, is not reliant on both allies to reach the majority mark of 145.

READ | Eknath Shinde Now Where Uddhav Was In ’19, With Big Difference

And the NCP has already professed support, meaning the Shinde Sena doesn’t have the leverage it had in 2022, when Mr Shinde broke from Uddhav Thackeray’s side and allied with the BJP.

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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis watches the live telecast of Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 01, 2023. Photo: Twitter/@Dev_Fadnavis

Stating that the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would give a massive boost for Maharashtra’s sugarcane industry, Deputy Chief Minister and State Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday lauded the Modi government’s decision to waive off the income tax on the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane payment prior to 2016.

Mr. Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai that that the BJP government at the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had succeeded in giving sugarcane sector in the country, and particularly in Maharashtra, its biggest advantage in years by waiving off the tax on FRP.

Explained | Budget 2023: How is money allocated and where does it come from?

“Sugarcane farmers will greatly benefit by this move and get better rates henceforward…

“Earlier, the Modi government had waived off tax on FRP after 2016. Now, with the exemption of tax before 2016, sugarcane factories in Maharashtra will be saved from having to pay tax on FRP [before 2016] which collectively adds up to ₹10,000 crore,” Mr. Fadnavis said.

In a veiled jibe at previous governments in Maharashtra (Congress-Nationalist Congress Party and the Maha Vikas Aghadi under Uddhav Thackeray), Mr. Fadnavis said that for the last 20 years, State governments had been trying to get the Centre to waive off the tax on FRP without success.

The move is expected to help the ruling BJP in the State consolidate its position in the ‘sugar heartland’ of western Maharashtra, traditionally the bastion of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Congress.

The NCP particularly has looked on with apprehension ever since the formation of a separate cooperation Ministry under Amit Shah by Prime Minister Modi in July 2021.

NCP president Sharad Pawar has been stressing that the Central government could not meddle in the functioning of Maharashtra’s cooperative sector as all the cooperative societies in the State were governed by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Act and that only the State, and not the Central government, had the right to frame policies and enforce them in the sector.  The formation of the Cooperation Ministry under Mr. Shah has sparked speculation that the BJP’s real motive was to break the NCP’s stranglehold over Maharashtra’s cooperative sector, thereby attenuating the party’s political hold in the State, particularly the sugar heartland of western Maharashtra. 

Meanwhile, praising the Budget, Mr. Fadnavis said the focus on the agriculture sector was not merely limited to doling out subsidies to farmers but concentrated on aspects like building digital infrastructure, technology infusion and integrating with the market.

“The country is to be developed as a ‘global millets hub’ as announced in the Budget…Every section will benefit from it — be it the middle class, small industries, farmers, youth. The investment in infrastructure at ₹10 lakh crore is unprecedented along with the ₹2.30 lakh crore investment in the railways sector,” he said.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who is also Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, lashed out at the Budget, dubbing it as ‘election-oriented gimmickry’, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said there was “nothing concrete” in it “beyond catchy slogans and rhetoric.”

“The Union Finance Minister did not utter a single word on the burning issue of inflation, unemployment, problems faced by the farmers, minimum support price for agricultural produce or rising fuel prices. There was no concession in the interest rate of crop loans nor did the government announce any increase in the minimum base price, nor was the GST on fertiliser and seeds reduced. Nor did the Finance Minister give any formula to double the income of the farmers,” said Mr. Patole.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president Raju Shetti likewise called the budget “a litany of hollow promises” with nothing concrete for farmers.

“The Budget’s emphasis on organic farming, and the development of the country into a ‘millets hub’ sounds good on paper. But has the government provided any infrastructure for these experiments and have they made a proper study over their large-scale feasibility in India,” asked Mr. Shetti.