Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde has issued an ultimatum to the newly sworn-in ministers of his party. Shinde said that the party will soon take affidavits from these ministers stating that they are willing to quit after two and a half years to make room for new faces.
Eknath Shinde said that the Shiv Sena has adopted a 'perform or perish' policy and only those who performed well would stay in the Mahayuti cabinet, Hindustan Times reported citing sources.
Shinde loyalist and Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai said that the affidavits were being taken so Shinde could drop these ministers officially if he wanted to.
This implies that Shinde could bank on a 2½ years rotation policy for cabinet berths to pacify unhappy MLAs. "Because of this policy, many more will get an opportunity to become ministers and represent their region, district and constituency."
A close aide of Shinde told the publication that the Shiv Sena MLAs neither have ideology nor have loyalty to the Deputy CM. He added that all they want is power and the party has to distribute power equitably.
Senior Shiv Sena leaders Deepak Kesarkar, Abdul Sattar and Tanaji Sawant were dropped from the Mahayuti cabinet due to non-performance and corruption allegations.
While Satar was accused of high-handedness in his tenure, Sawant did not follow the tendering process in many matters related to the health department. He also opposed all the IAS officers working in the health department.
Sattar had also made controversial statements that landed the government in a soup. Other Shiv Sena MLAs who have been sidelined are Narendra Bhondekar of Bhandara and Prakash Surve from Magathane.
Shinde loyalists like Shambhuraj Desai, Uday Samant, Dada Bhuse and Gulabrao Patil have been retained in the cabinet. Bharatsheth Gogavale, Pradeep Sarnaik, and Sanjay Shirsat are among those who have been newly inducted.
Not just Eknath Shinde, focus on performance seems to be key for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said that newly-inducted ministers in the state government will undergo a "performance audit" after two-and-a-half years and those who perform will progress. Deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said that "non-performers" can be replaced in 2½ months.