Will extend all possible cooperation to Devendra Fadnavis; will work as a team: Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday (December 5, 2024) said he will extend all possible cooperation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and will work as a team.

Addressing a news conference, Mr. Shinde described his tenure as Chief Minister as very successful. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for firmly backing the Mahayuti government in the last two-and-half years.

Mr. Shinde said the Mahayuti not just secured a majority but the poll results did not give the Opposition even enough numbers to have a Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. Mr. Shinde said when he was the Chief Minister, Mr. Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, both his Deputies, extended cooperation to him and they worked as a team.

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“The way Devendra ji and Ajit Dada (Pawar) helped and cooperated with me [when he was the CM], I will extend all possible cooperation and backing to the Chief Minister. We will work as a team,” Mr. Shinde told reporters.

Playing on the acronyms CM (Chief Minister) and DCM (Deputy Chief Minister), Mr. Shinde said he worked as “common man” and will now be “dedicated to the common man” 24×7.

The Deputy Chief Minister said in the first Cabinet meeting after the swearing-in ceremony officials have been instructed to disburse the next instalment of the Ladki Bahin scheme to beneficiaries. Under the scheme, women with an annual family income of less than ₹2.5 lakh are given ₹1,500 as monthly aid. Mr. Shinde rubbished all talk of him being upset over not being made Chief Minister.

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Mr. Shinde pointed out that when he led a revolt [against then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray] in 2022, 39 Shiv Sena MLAs were with him. “Today, the party has 57 MLAs and the people of the State have given their seal of approval on which is the real Shiv Sena,” he said.

In the evening, Mr. Shinde was a given a rousing welcome when he arrived at Anand Ashram, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena in Thane named after his mentor Anand Dighe, following the swearing-in ceremony.

Several hundred party workers thronged the area carrying placards and shouting slogans in his praise. They also shouted slogans glorifying Anand Dighe and Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.