Amid talk of a growing rift with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde said nobody should take him lightly, and made a veiled reference to the toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
It was a warning for those who are capable of understanding, he said, talking to reporters in Nagpur.
He had been a worker of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Sena leader late Anand Dighe, said Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena.
“In 2022, I toppled the cart of those who took me lightly, and we brought in a new government that stayed in the people’s hearts,” Shinde said, apparently referring to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Shinde had then become chief minister by splitting the Thackeray-led Sena and forming an alliance with the BJP.
“The double-engine government (headed by Shinde) ran at full speed, and I and Devendra Fadnavis said we would win over 200 seats. We won 232 seats (in the 2024 assembly polls),” he said.
“Do not take me lightly. The hint is enough for those who understand it. I will continue to do my work,” he added.
While both Shinde and Fadnavis have denied that there is discord, recent developments suggested there are simmering tensions.
After the elections, Shinde had to agree to a role reversal with Fadnavis, his deputy in the previous regime, becoming chief minister.
The appointment of NCP leader Aditi Tatkare and BJP leader Girish Mahajan as guardian ministers of Raigad and Nashik districts, respectively, brought tensions to the fore, with the Shiv Sena leaders expressing unhappiness. Both the appointments were revoked and Fadnavis is yet to take a fresh decision.
