Mumbai: Amid differences between Mahayuti parties since the Maharashtra assembly polls over cabinet berths, portfolios and guardian ministerships, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Mahayuti MLAs to strengthen the alliance, interact more with each other and bond at the grassroots level.
On a day trip to Mumbai for several inaugurations Wednesday, Modi met with most of the Mahayuti MLAs over lunch and shared his inputs on running the government in Maharashtra.
The lunch was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and most MLAs of the ruling Mahayuti, a coalition of the BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena, with some smaller allies.
“PM Modi gave us good tips and guidance. He told us that there is a need to strengthen the Mahayuti and that our interactions with each other should also increase,” said an MLA from Shiv Sena.
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Another MLA from the BJP said that this interaction and bonding between parties should also happen on the “grassroot level.”
The three major Mahayuti parties secured a whopping 230 of 288 seats in the Maharashtra assembly election held in November last year.
Differences in Mahayuti
When the cabinet expansion in December left out a few former ministers, it left a sour taste among many in the Mahayuti.
Senior leaders, such as Chhagan Bhujbal of NCP-Ajit Pawar and Vijay Shivtare of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, were visibly upset.
There was a race among MLAs for guardian ministerships as well. Even after a month of cabinet expansion, delays are still holding up the guardian minister appointments.
In the latest case of sparks flying among Mahayuti MLAs, BJP MLA Suresh Dhas has accused NCP MLA and cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde of shielding the accused in the murder case of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
Against the backdrop of these controversies, PM Modi meeting all Mahayuti MLAs is significant.
“He even gave us the example of the Gujarat governance model, telling us how our party has maintained power from local bodies to the assembly. Mahayuti should try that in Maharashtra,” said the BJP MLA quoted earlier.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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