'Deputies not communicative': MahaYuti-NDA leadership on same page, says Eknath Shinde

Shinde also said, 'We speak less and work more…if we speak, you people only put us in trouble.'

Ratnagiri: Amid reports of growing differences among the MahaYuti-NDA leadership and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' statement that his deputies are not communicative, Eknath Shinde on Sunday asserted that they are on the same page and the agenda is development.

When asked who among his two deputies - Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar - are better in communication, Fadnavis, during an interaction last week, said, “Let me take you frankly…they should forgive me…both are not communicative.”

While Ajit has not reached, the Deputy CM and NCP President’s close aide Amol Mitkari had expressed resentment over the CM’s dig and the two deputies.

However, on Sunday, during an informal chat with a select group of media people from the Konkan region, Shinde chose to speak on it when there was a barrage of questions on the MahaYuti leadership.

“We speak less and work more…if we speak, you people only put us in trouble,” Shinde said in a lighter vein, noting that there is no lack of communication among the trio.

Asked about his working style when he was CM for two-and-a-half-years and now when he is the Deputy CM, Shinde said, “There is no differences…I have worked throughout my life.”

“Whether it is me or Devendra ji or Ajit Dada, we work together…then also (previous government with Shinde and CM and Fadnavis and Pawar as deputy CMs)... now also we were working together… we are working as a team…a composite unit dedicated to development and welfare,” he said.

“What is CM and Deputy CM…in fact, CM is the common man and Deputy CM is dedicated to the common man,” he said.

Asked about what would be the take of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in general and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) in particular after the local bodies elections, he said, “People will always get associated with those who work.”

Shinde, the chief leader of Shiv Sena, said that he works on the principles of trust and faith. “You have to be committed to your words…that is more important…you have to be faithful and trustworthy,” Shinde said in what was an indication that more people from the opposition rank and files would join the MahaYuti.

Asked about the reason for the large number of MLAs joining him during the June 2022 uprising in Shiv Sena and toppling of the MVA dispensation, he said, “It is because of trust.”