Maharashtra: Fadnavis-led new govt aims for inclusive approach amid recurring caste fault lines

Mumbai: Amid the caste divide because of the reservation agitations involving Maratha vs OBCs and Dhangar vs Adivasis and regional disparities, Maharashtra Chief Minister-designate Devendra Fadnavis will look for an all-inclusive approach and ensure social engineering in the road ahead.

After his election as the leader of the BJP legislature party, Fadnavis thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Health and Family Welfare Minister and BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda for constantly guiding the BJP-led MahaYuti alliance.

Addressing the BJP top leaders, MLAs and MLCs, Fadnavis said: “This election was historic. Analyzing the results, I believe the key message is: Ek hai toh safe hai and Modi hai toh mumkin hai."

With BJP’s big partners - Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-headed NCP - the saffron party in general, Fadnavis in particular, faces a challenge ahead.

A Brahmin in the Maratha-dominated politics, Fadnavis had secured the help from the RSS and won over the OBC vote bank - which had dealt a heavy blow to the BJP during the Lok Sabha polls.

“Fadnavis is a skilled politician. He thinks a lot, consults a lot before he makes a decision. If you look at the BJP legislature party meeting, top leaders Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar proposed his name. The 10 who seconded his name are from various regions and belonged to various communities,” informed sources said after the meeting.

Patil is a Maratha while Mungantiwar is from the Komti community.

Those who seconded his name include Pankaja Munde, Pravin Darekar, Sanjay Savkare, Ashok Uike, Meghana Bordikar, Yogesh Sagar, Sambhaji Patil-Nilangekar, Gopichand Padalkar, Dilip Borse.

“The list has legislators who are Marathas, OBCs, SC, ST, Dhangar,” the sources said, adding that the proposers and seconders had representation from the five regions - Mumbai-Konkan, Western Maharashtra, North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha.

Before the BJP legislature party meeting was held in the Central Hall of Vidhan Bhavan, the core committee met under state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule in presence of BJP’s central observers former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

BJP general secretary (organisation) Shiv Prakash and general secretary Vinod Tawde too were present.

One of the key challenges is the distribution of guardian ministries to the Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State - for the 36 districts of the State.

BJP and its allies Shiv Sena and NCP eyeing for the top ministries of Revenue, Home, Finance and Planning, Urban Development, Rural Development, Water Resources, Energy, Public Works, Public Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, Agriculture and Excise.