After Portfolios Declared, Mahayuti Ministers Compete for District Guardian Ministership

Mumbai: After the cabinet portfolio distributions, tug of war has begun among the Maharashtra ministers over the post of ‘guardian minister’ of the districts. Shiv Sena cabinet Bharat Gogawale has staked claim over Raigad district, while Sanjay Shirshat wants to become the guardian minister of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. Ajit Pawar-led NCP has control over Raigad district, while the BJP does not want to leave its claim on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

There are at least 11 districts, where two or three of Mahayuti constituents have staked their claim. In Maharashtra, a cabinet minister is made ‘guardia minister’ of a particular district, which means that he or she is responsible for the overall development and implementation of government schemes in the district. He/she is also the ex-officio chairperson of the District Planning Committee (DPC), which is responsible for addressing issues of common interest between panchayats (local government bodies) and municipalities, such as infrastructure development, resource sharing and environmental protection. This gives control over the government spendings in the district, because of which the position has become important for all parties.

A week ago, 39 MLAs had been administered an oath of ministerial berth and secrecy. Following this, the portfolio were allocated to them on only Saturday after a lot of deliberation among the three parties — BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has kept the home department with himself, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has got three departments including key departments like urban development and housing, while another DCM Ajit Pawar has retained the finance portfolio.

After the portfolios were announced, Shiv Sena cabinet ministers started openly demanding guardian ministership of their favorite districts. Mr. Gogawale, who has been made a minister of horticulture and salt pan land development, said that he should be made the guardian minister of Raigad district. However, it is not easy for Gogawale to get the responsibility as the Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s Adity Tatkare, daughter of Sunil Tatkare, is also a strong contender here.

After taking darshan at Shri Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai, Mr. Gogawales said he has sought blessings from lord Ganesha. “I have prayed for Raigad district guardian ministership. I am hopeful that I will get it,” he said.

It is pertinent to note that Aditi Tatkare was the guardian minister for Raigad during the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. After the collapse of the MVA government, Uday Samant was made the guardian minister of Raigad district and Sindhudurg district in the Eknath Shinde led Mahayuti government.

NCP leader and Maharashtra agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate also said that the NCP has a natural claim over the guardian ministership of Nashik as his party has the largest number of MLAs from there. “I will demand to keep Nashik’s guardian ministership with us as we have seven legislators from here,” Mr. Kokate said.

There is also a report of a tug-of-war over Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Kolhpaur and Pune districts. While deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar will not leave his claim over Pune, senior BJP cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil is also eyeing for it. An insider in the BJP said that the guardian minister of cities like Pune is important as the corporation elections are likely to be held in the first half of 2025. Therefore, Mr. Patil has been pushing for Pune district’s guardian ministership.

Shiv Sena cabinet minister Sanjay Shirsat said that his party would keep the guardian ministership of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and he would be the next guardian minister. Interestingly, BJP minister Atul Save is also vying for the post.

Shiv Sena also wants to continue its dominance in the Thane district, while the BJP wants the guardian minister’s post for its minister Ganesh Naik. Shiv Sena leader Shambhuraj Desai wants to remain the guardian minister of Satara, where the leaders from other two parties have also joined the race. BJP cabinet minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale, descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is hoping to get the post in Satara, the NCP is also vying for it. However, Mr. Desai denied there was any competition for the Satara guardian ministership. “There is no tussle in Mahayuti,” he said.