Fadnavis has clipped the wings of Pankaja Munde who was a contender for chief ministerial post.
The cold war between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Minister for Rural Development Pankaja Munde has intensified ever since she has been divested of the important water conservation portfolio in the Cabinet reshuffle. The troubles for Pankaja is not going to end soon as she is likely to be replaced by Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar, Minister for Labour, Earthquake Rehabilitation, Skill Development and Ex-servicemen Welfare as the guardian minister of Latur. Thus, Fadnavis has clipped the wings of Pankaja after the cabinet reshuffle. Even the licence of a sugar factory owned by her has been cancelled. She continues to hold two other portfolios, rural development and women and child department.
The public spat between Fadnavis and Rural Development Minister over re-allocation of portfolios of ministers has become the highlight of the expansion of the state cabinet. After being relieved from the water conservation portfolio Pankaja Munde said she was to reach Singapore for attending a global water leader summit but won’t do so as she was no longer the minister of that department. Fadnavis nonetheless tried to pacify Pankaja by asking her to attend the event as she is the senior minister from Maharashtra. Even Pankaja’s supporters were unhappy with her been divested of portfolios as they had burned the effigy of Fadnavis.
According to sources, “Both Eknath Khadse and Pankaja Munde were contenders for the chief ministerial post. Earlier Pankaja had even mentioned about her aspirations to become chief minister which didn’t go down well with Fadnavis. If Nilangekar is appointed as guardian minister both Pankaja and Congress leader Amit Deshmukh will lose their foothold in Latur.”
A close aide said, “Munde is furious for being taken out of water conservation. And all of us also voiced our anger.”
Referring to the divested portfolio, she said, “As minister of the water conservation department, I have taken the work to great heights. I worked tirelessly and made the department popular.” She added that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lauded her efforts in jalyukta shivar yojna and had said she was the future hope of Maharashtra.
On the other hand, Nilangekar who hails from Latur is a staunch supporter of BJP. He is also a member of RSS and is holding the post of General Secretary of BJP’s Maharashtra State Unit. Today, Nilangekar has become one of the strongest BJP cadre and mass leader. Earlier Pankaja and Amit Deshmukh had opposed the induction of Nilangekar in the cabinet.
