On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 76th birthday last week, the one who took the lead in the celebrations was not a BJP leader but deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde.
Shinde, however, flew to Ahmedabad to attend the launch of the “Seva Sankalp Abhiyan” at Vadnagar, to mark the Prime Minister’s birthday in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah and Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel. Speaking at the programme, Shinde said, “Modi’s achievement should be compared with the height of the Himalayas and the depth of the Arabian Sea.”
The decision did not go down well with some BJP leaders. One BJP minister even quipped that the deputy CM had still not given up his efforts to return to the top post in the Mahayuti government. The talks with the activist were led by BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, and BJP ministers and legislators outnumbered Sena leaders during the negotiations. The next day, Sanjay Lakhe-Patil, a leader of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and a prominent Maratha community leader, addressed a press conference and claimed that Jarange-Patil had ended his agitation without getting anything concrete from the government on his demands. He further alleged that a conspiracy had been hatched in Mumbai in July, when Jarange’s son was admitted to a hospital there, to deny Shinde credit for resolving the Maratha reservation issue. Soon, there would be a function in Jalna where Shinde would be felicitated for the same, he added. Meanwhile, questions have also arisen over sudden allegations concerning government contracts involving people considered close to Jarange-Patil.
The party’s top leadership was aware of what Lakhe-Patil would say, according to Sena insiders. “A proposal discussed at a meeting is not a decision unless it is finalised,” said party chief spokesperson Umesh Patil.
A close aide of the Deputy Chief Minister said Shinde was well aware that he would be criticised for choosing to travel to Gujarat for the programme instead of attending the Marathwada Mukti Din events, but decided to do so nevertheless. “He did so for a reason,” the aide said.
