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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Unshackled yet Vulnerable

Eknath Shinde’s high stakes pivot in the post-Ajit era Mumbai: The swearing-in of Sunetra Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister has optically restored the Mahayuti’s "tripod" structure, but for Eknath Shinde and his Shiv Sena faction, the ground reality has shifted seismically. The sudden exit of Ajit Pawar—often seen as the "counterweight" in the alliance—has fundamentally rewritten Shinde’s survival equation. For the last two years, Shinde operated in a high-pressure "sandwich" between Devendra...

Unshackled yet Vulnerable

Eknath Shinde’s high stakes pivot in the post-Ajit era Mumbai: The swearing-in of Sunetra Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister has optically restored the Mahayuti’s "tripod" structure, but for Eknath Shinde and his Shiv Sena faction, the ground reality has shifted seismically. The sudden exit of Ajit Pawar—often seen as the "counterweight" in the alliance—has fundamentally rewritten Shinde’s survival equation. For the last two years, Shinde operated in a high-pressure "sandwich" between Devendra Fadnavis’s strategic command and Ajit Pawar’s administrative dominance. With the latter gone, Shinde is no longer just the "other" Deputy CM; he is now the operational anchor of the government, a shift that brings both immense opportunity and existential risk. Sunetra Pawar’s sudden elevation as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister after Ajit Pawar’s tragic death has also unsettled other Shiv Sena leaders, who publicly welcomed the move but privately expressed surprise and concern. The development reshapes the Mahayuti alliance, with Eknath Shinde caught between asserting his mass appeal and managing BJP’s growing dominance. Third Wheel Until last week, Eknath Shinde often found his administrative influence curtailed by Ajit Pawar’s aggressive style. Ajit "Dada" controlled the bureaucracy and the purse strings, often leaving Shinde’s MLAs complaining about stalled files and delayed funds. How the new reality would unfold is not yet clear. With Sunetra Pawar being a political novice inducted primarily for "sympathy" and "legacy" management, Shinde is now the sole experienced administrator alongside Fadnavis. The "administrative friction" that plagued Shinde’s faction is gone. In cabinet meetings and operational governance, Shinde’s voice will likely carry significantly more weight, as he is no longer competing for airtime with a heavyweight like Ajit Pawar. Finance Dilemma The decision by Chief Minister Fadnavis to retain the Finance and Planning portfolio—rather than handing it to Sunetra Pawar—is the single most critical development for the Shiv Sena. The good news is that Shinde’s MLAs will no longer have to beg an NCP Finance Minister for development funds—a major grievance that had threatened internal revolts in the Sena camp. However, it can also turn out to be the bad news, since financial power will be completely centralized within the BJP now. Previously, Shinde could subtly play the BJP and NCP against each other to extract resources. Now, he faces a monolithic BJP command center. If Fadnavis tightens the purse strings, Shinde has no "second door" to knock on. The BMC Bargaining Chip The immediate effects of Shinde’s new fears were seen in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other Municipal Corporations in the MMR, where insteady of bargaining for a larger share of power, the Shiv Sena under Shinde appeared to be content with whatever it got from the BJP and quietly accepting it. This was very unlikely of their track record till now and contrary to the party insiders who were very aggressive till last week sending out signals that Shinde would bargain strongly for the demands like Mayoral post in Mumbai to assert the ‘rights of Marathi Manoos’.

Mumbai 2023 Learjet crash probe in final stages

Mumbai: In a significant development post-Baramati Learjet 45 crash on Jan. 28, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said that the probe into a disaster involving a similar aircraft at the Mumbai Airport on Sep. 14, 2023, is now in the final stages.

 

The AAIB statement came amid embarrassing questions after the Baramati incident in which Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party President Ajit Pawar and four others were killed. The small aircraft in both crashes were owned by VSR Ventures Pvt. Ltd.

 

Mumbai Crash

On the Mumbai crash, the AAIB said that a Learjet 45 aircraft (Reg. No. VT-DBL) took off from Visakhapatnam on Sep. 14, 2023, but nosedived, veered off the runway at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and crashed in heavy rains and poor visibility conditions.

 

“The aircraft had earlier taken-off from Visakhapatnam Airport and while landing at Mumbai airport, the aircraft continuously drifted to the right of Runway 27 and crash landed at the shoulder of the intersection of Taxiway W and N,” said the AAIB today on that incident.

 

The 8 persons aboard were identified as the pilot Capt. Sunil, and Capt. Neil, the First Officer, plus passengers and 2 crew Dhruv Kotak, K. K. Krishnadas, Aakarsh Shethi, Arul Sali, Lars Sorensen from Denmark and Kamakshi.

 

“The co-pilot suffered serious injury whereas the pilot-in-command and 6 passengers suffered minor injuries. The co-pilot could not be interviewed for a long time since he was in bad shape. The aircraft was destroyed during the accident,” it said.

 

Thereafter, the probe team prepared a detailed preliminary report on the disaster including the initial outcome of the flight recorders and published it on the AAIB website.

 

“The investigators analyzed all the evidence and other documents. The investigation is in final stages. The investigation team is trying their best to finalise the report on top priority,” the AAIB said, without mentioning the causes of the tragedy or fixing responsibility on anyone.


Opposition Ruckus

The AAIB’s affirmation came as the Maharashtra Opposition Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and other leaders raised suspicions over the Jan. 28 Baramati crash.

 

SS (UBT) Rajya Sabha Member Sanjay Raut even hinted at a conspiracy by drawing parallels with the death of Justice B. H. Loya (Dec. 2014) in Nagpur, while West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also smelt intrigue seeking a Supreme Court-monitored probe, though NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar declared that it was ‘an accident’.

 

Raut alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party had threatened the late Ajit Pawar with files related to the purported irrigation mega-scam after he tried to become cosy with the NCP (SP), and was open to a merger with his party, as asserted by Sharad Pawar.

 

“Something had happened behind the curtains… Ajitdada was keen for a reconciliation (with Sharad Pawar) after which the BJP warned him. Ajitdada responded to those threats and barely 10 days later, was killed mysteriously in the plane crash,” claimed Raut.

 

Comparing it with Justice Loya’s death, Raut cautioned that “questions are bound to be raised on Ajit Pawar’s death”, and the manner in which a tall leader like him was killed must be probed in the light of facts coming to light. “It think there is something dubious. Even his own (NCP) people are finding it suspicious,” he said.

 

Congress Legislature Party Leader Vijay Wadettiwar contended that “80 pc of the people in the state believe there is something fishy going on” in the whole matter.

 

“A CID probe will not solve anything… Why was the pilot changed at the last minute? How did negligence happen in the case of such a big leader... What does it point to… The NCP leaders should demand a proper investigation from the PM Narendra Modi. Even before Ajitdada's funeral rites were completed, everyone rushed to grab power,” said Wadettiwar, without taking any names.

 

Interestingly, Ajit Pawar’s close aide and MLC Amol Mitkari questioned the last-moment change of pilot, how the number of persons allegedly 6 during take-off changed to five after the crash landing, though the documents were safe, the passengers perished.

 

BJP trashes allegations

Ace criminal lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, a BJP Rajya Sabha Member, downplayed all allegations, terming them as ‘false’.

 

“It's shameful that they are doing such petty politics on the departed soul. We all know it was an accident. It is a pure accident, and I don't think there is any conspiracy in it," Nikam declared.

 

The Baramati Police Station has lodged an ADR into the plane crash and transferred it to the Pune CID for further probe, while the DGCA and AAIB are also investigating the crash separately.


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