‘Pawar’s quick decision-making style not going down well with Devendra Fadnavis and CM Eknath Shinde’.
MUMBAI
Every leader has his own thinking and working style according to which he works and takes decisions. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar considers himself a no-nonsense leader and has new faith in delivery. He has been giving priority to public works. Just as the “nature” of the Indian Administrative Service in the 1970-80s was considered to be such that it did not work on the delivery system, that is, it used to get any work done, the same seems to be the “nature” of Ajit Pawar—be it in Maha Vikas Aghadi or BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction). In the Aghadi, he was known as a minister who took quick decisions when he is in the government. It is not in his nature to postpone decisions or keep work pending. Surely those decisions may be somewhat politically motivated; as long as there is a government of like-minded people, there is no problem in taking concrete decisions fearlessly, but in a government with a different setup, such an approach is not acceptable. Ajit Pawar probably forgot that he kept ideology aside and joined the government of other parties in which it becomes natural for one decision to cause suffering to others—though Ajit Pawar may consider it right, it appears unfair to others. Taking quick administrative decisions may be a good habit, but this rule does not work in alliance. It is not necessary that other allies of the government will also agree with such a “hastily taken unilateral decision”.
Everyone is aware of the administrative abilities that Devendra Fadnavis demonstrated while holding the post of Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2014 to 2019. The BJP leadership has entrusted him with the important responsibility of running and sustaining the present Shinde government. After the break-up of the Shiv Sena, after forming the government with Shinde, it is Fadnavis’ responsibility to keep its strength intact and he is also very conscious about it. The government headed by Eknath Shinde should not be eclipsed, so they consider it necessary to look at any file carefully—this is so that there is no mistake or blunder in haste.
However, Ajit Pawar’s style of working is different. Chief Minister Shinde does not like Ajit Pawar’s quick decision-making style. And this is the reason, Shinde has created a “new hurdle” to “block” the files to be cleared by Ajit Pawar.
As the Finance Minister of the state, Fadnavis cancelled the decision taken by Ajit Pawar in the matter of giving loans to sugar factories. This is being considered as a huge blow to Ajit Pawar by Fadnavis. Since becoming Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar has been expressing his power by holding meetings of various departments. In the absence of Chief Minister Shinde, he also held a meeting of administrative officials in his war room.
Pawar had imposed tough conditions for getting loans sanctioned from National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC) for various sugar mills in the state. In the present scenario, if Ajit Pawar and his team has to survive, then Fadnavis’ consultation and Shinde’s approval in every decision Ajit Pawar takes is a key for survival.