Flanked By Fadnavis, Shinde Breaks Silence On Alleged ‘Cold War’ Days After ‘Don’t Take Me Lightly’ Warning
Ahead of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly's budget session, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde dismissed rumors of a "cold war" between him and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde junked the 'cold war' talks ahead of the beginning of Maharashtra's Legislative Assembly's budget session.
Addressing a press conference along with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and fellow Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Shinde said there is nothing like a cold war.
"This is the second session of our government. Only we (Devendra Fadnavis and I) have changed roles. But yes, Ajit Dada's role is constant...We have started many projects which were stopped by the MVA government," Shinde said.
Mumbai: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar hold a joint press conference ahead of the Maharashtra Budget Session starting tomorrow i.e. March 3.
— ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025
Deputy CM Ajit Pawar says, "The opposition did not attend the meeting today ahead of the Budget… pic.twitter.com/IcPGoSCyLk
"Ajit Dada will present the Maharashtra budget. No matter how much breaking news you give, we (Mahayuti) will not break. What is the cold war? There is nothing like that. In this scorching heat of Maharashtra... how is a cold war possible?" he added.
Fadnavis also scoffed at speculations of "cold war" mocking Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, saying he wants to compete with Salim-Javed, the legendary screenwriting duo.
“There is no war. Those who know both of us will remember what we do when we are together,” said Fadnavis.
Differences Between Fadnavis, Shinde
Following the Bharatiya Janata Party's big win in Maharashtra, several crevices cracked open in the ruling Mahayuti government between Fadnavis and Shinde.
The differences arose between the two leaders on various issues including disagreement over the guardian minister’s post to taking separate review meetings to separate medical cells and ‘war rooms’ for monitoring projects.
After breaking away from the original Shiv Sena, Shinde had helped the BJP to get into the ruling alliance, however after winning 230 of the 288 seats, the BJP unseated Shinde from the CM post and installed its leader, Fadnavis.
The decision caused discontent among Shinde loyalists who believed that his leadership, development and welfare decisions taken during the two-and-a-half years of his chief ministership helped the ruling bloc sweep the Assembly polls.
'Don't Take Me Lightly'
The rift became more evident recently when Shinde issued a veiled warning saying he “should not be taken lightly”. His warning came a day after the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) ordered an inquiry into Rs 900-crore stalled housing project in Jalna that was approved for revival in 2023 by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde during his tenure as CM between June 2022 and Nov 2024.
“Do not take me lightly. I have already said this to those who took me lightly in the past. I am an ordinary party worker, but I am a worker of Bala Saheb and Dighe Saheb so people should keep that in mind. Those who took me lightly saw that I changed the government in 2022 and brought a double-engine government that people wanted…,” he had said.
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