MUMBAI: Denying there was a cold war between him and CM Devendra Fadnavis, Dy CM Eknath Shinde said he and Fadnavis “have a ‘thanda thanda, cool cool’ relationship.” Shinde denied there was any internal strife in Mahayuti and said he was not setting up any parallel system or apparatus. He also said that had Uddhav Thackeray not become CM, the Sena would not have split, while addressing a meeting of all Sena MPs, legislators and office bearers from Mumbai.
CM Fadnavis said there was nothing wrong in the setting up of a medical aid cell at Mantralaya by Shinde “as the aim is to help people.”
Shinde further said CM Fadnavis and DCM Ajit Pawar were working as a team. He said, “The DCM’s Medical Aid Cell was set up in the past too. It (cell set up by Shinde) will coordinate with CM’s Medical Relief Fund cell and help poor and needy patients. So there is no duplication of work. There is only one CM war room. Even now key projects will be pushed from the war room.”
After Assembly elections, get ready to deliver another shock to Sena (UBT) in civic polls: Shinde
Shinde on Tuesday urged his party workers to gear up for the upcoming civic elections and defeat rival Shiv Sena (UBT), just as they had delivered a major setback in last year’s assembly polls.
“We dealt a shock and a body blow to Shiv Sena (UBT) in the assembly elections, and we must repeat this in the civic polls. The Shiv Sena must expand,” Shinde asserted. While the schedule for the municipal elections, including the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, is yet to be announced, Shinde welcomed several Shiv Sena (UBT) office-bearers into his party at the event.
Addressing concerns about Mumbai’s status, Shinde dismissed allegations of a conspiracy to detach the city from Maharashtra, stating, “No one can separate Mumbai from the state. Our government is fast-tracking pending development projects and cluster redevelopment. We work for the people, not for power or positions.”
Without naming former CM Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde remarked that the Shiv Sena split in June 2022 due to the “lure of the chief minister’s post,” accusing Thackeray of treating colleagues like subordinates, which he said hindered the party’s growth.
“We are in a battle against those who oppose development,” Shinde declared, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has realized Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s vision by building the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and revoking Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
