Eknath Shinde was on BJP radar before 2019 Assembly polls: Report

The ongoing Maharashtra political crisis has put spotlight on the years-long friendship between rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and former BJP chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The two leaders have maintained close ties since 2015 and had the BJP and the Sena contested 2019 assembly elections separately, Shinde would've been BJP's pick for Thane constituency, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Ahead of the 2019 polls, the BJP had set sights on Shinde as its candidate, but due to the pre-poll alliance between the two parties “Shinde remained and contested from the Sena”, the report said.

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In the previous government, Fadnavis was prepared to offer Shinde more administrative responsibility. “Whether in ruling or opposition, the BJP has always respected leaders on merit. We are a political party and will certainly encash the differences within the Sena,”

“In 2014, when the Sena was initially in the Opposition, Shinde was made Opposition leader. But when the Sena joined the government, Shinde was made Minister for the Public Works Department. He deserved a better portfolio, which was not considered by Thackeray,” a close aide of Shinde told The Indian Express.

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The report states that between 2014 and 2019 the BJP had sensed that Shinde was feeling stifled in the Sena as he had bigger political ambitions. In 2015, when Fadnavis announced the Rs 12,000-crore Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway, he chose Shinde to implement his pet project. “The BJP’s role in Shinde’s revolt cannot be quantified,” a BJP general secretary told the publication.

“It happened because Shinde wished it and had the support within Sena to strike against Thackeray. We (BJP) can take the credit for our ability to build confidence in Shinde. It is not always power, post or money that work. Mass leaders like Shinde look for dignity and respect, which Fadnavis has always given.”