Mumbai, Jul 13: Maharashtra NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase on Thursday took a jab at the ruling NDA alliance in the state on ongoing political deadlock surrounding portfolio allocation.
Referring to BJP’s reluctance to assign the Finance and Planning portfolios to AjitPawar,hecommented that it seems like an attempt to belittle his importance.Expressing surpriseat theneed for senior leader Ajit Pawar had to travel to Delhi to meet top brass of the BJP, he said, “It is surprising that a tall leader like Ajit Pawar had to travel to Delhi to meet the BJP top brass amidst the political deadlock over portfolio allocation.”Whereas, previously people would queue up at his (Pawar Junior’s) office for work, the NCP leader remarked.Highlighting the shifting dynamics within the state government, he stated, “Now, CM Shinde, who once accused Ajit Pawar of not allocating resources to the Shiv Sena MLAs, cannot take a high moral ground after BJP inducted Ajit Pawar’s team into the ministry.”He raised concerns about the governance in Maharashtra coming to an absolute standstill in last 10 days.”The government seems to be solely preoccupied with how to please and pacify the MLAs in BJP, the Shinde camp and those supporting Ajit Pawar,” he noted.Talking about discontent within the Shinde camp, Tapase said, “The inclusion of nine NCP legislators in the Maharashtra government has left the Shinde camp extremely unhappy. They insist that important portfolios should not be given to the NCP faction that has recently joined the government.”Looking ahead to the Monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislature, which is due to commence next week, he anticipated challenges for CM Shinde in controlling unrest among his MLAs and effectively coordinating and managing the various factions within the government.Meanwhile, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is actively assessing the ground situation and receiving support and commitment from the cadre in Maharashtra, added Tapase.(UNI)