SHINDE AND FADNAVIS, THE ENGINE THAT POWERS MAHARASHTRA

Whether it's ideological opinion or infrastructural projects, the duo have been steering the state ahead in all dimensions.

- SHWETA SHALINI

When friends turn colleagues, the dynamics of work itself changes. What was earlier a challenging job, becomes an achievable goal with concerted efforts and teamwork. As friends sharing power in the political space, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are strange colleagues. The political path of both leaders are different.

When Devendra Fadnavis was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2014 to 2019, it was an open secret that Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde enjoyed a close rapport with him. When ties between Shiv Sena and BJP remained strained because of the irresponsible articles in Saamana, Eknath Shinde was the go-to-man who CM Devendra Fadnavis trusted to be a sane voice.

When the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena backstabbed the people’s verdict in 2019, reports surfaced that Eknath Shinde obstinately refused and had to be placated with a lot of efforts. Eknath Shinde being a man who rose from the Sena rank-and-file, was among the prominent leaders who could have guessed that ditching the Hindutva ideology was not a good idea. As the tide turned in 2022 and Eknath Shinde became the Chief Minister, the two friends, Fadnavis and Shinde came back together.