Fadnavis intolerant and arrogant: Saamana

Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday alleged that senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who was earlier the chief minister of Maharashtra, has become intolerant and arrogant ever since he was made deputy CM, triggering sharp reactions from the saffron party. Fadnavis was a tolerant person earlier, but his frustration after being made the deputy chief minister resulted in him becoming intolerant and arrogant, the party claimed in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana’.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, objected to the language used in the editorial piece in the Marathi daily, whose editor is Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, while the executive editor is party’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said one should maintain decorum while criticising political opponents. He also warned of filing a complaint against Saamana’, and said its vitriol needs to stop.

BJP’s youth wing and a few party leaders held a protest in the evening. Fadnavis was the chief minister of the state between 2014 and 2019 when the BJP and Shiv Sena (undivided) shared power. After the 2019 assembly elections, the two parties parted ways over sharing the chief minister’s post. Thackeray later joined hands with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. The Thackeray-led dispensation, however, collapsed in June 2022 after his senior party leader Eknath Shinde rebelled along with 39 other MLAs and joined hands with the BJP. Shinde became the chief minister, while Fadnavis was made his deputy.

Last month, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar and his party MLAs also joined the Shinde government with Pawar being made the deputy CM. The editorial said, Devendra Fadnavis would have returned to power (post-2019 assembly elections) had he not betrayed the Shiv Sena. However, his party’s top leaders in Delhi sidelined him and made him deputy chief minister.

Fadnavis was a tolerant person earlier, but his frustration after being made the deputy CM resulted in him becoming intolerant and arrogant…They made him share the deputy chief minister’s post with Ajit Pawar, adding to his woes, it said. It was Fadnavis who once said that he would send Ajit Pawar to jail and ensure that he would get rigorous imprisonment. But what is Fadnavis doing exactly now by sharing power with the same Ajit Pawar? the party asked.