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How controversies dogging Maharashtra are a boon for Fadnavis

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Aditi Pai
Aditi PaiJun 30, 2015 | 22:06

How controversies dogging Maharashtra are a boon for Fadnavis

Just as the first showers, last fortnight, brought respite to the parched lands of Maharashtra, the month of June must certainly have cooled down some of the simmering tensions for the state's chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Three of his cabinet colleagues, who were touted to be contenders for the CM's post only eight months ago, have found themselves embroiled in controversies and allegations of scams, nudging them further away from the state's top job, almost instantly.

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Pankaja Munde, who had in October 2014 openly stated that "party workers and the youth" wanted to see her as the state's first woman chief minister, saw allegations of a Rs 206 crore procurement scam erupting in her women and child welfare ministry. Education Minister Vinod Tawde caused great embarrassment to his party and dented his own image after being seen to have claimed to be an engineering graduate even as his formal education says otherwise. Seen as the tallest BJP leader from the politically dominant Maratha community, he was first accused of declaring a "fake engineering degree" and is now allegedly responsible for a Rs 191 crore procurement scam without going through the process of e-tenders.

Eknath Khadse, known to be a Fadnavis baiter, is moving to the sidelines after the hooch tragedy which claimed over 100 lives. Even as the ministers grapple with the allegations and claim zero-irregularities, what's certain is that Fadnavis can find comfort in his much coveted sixth floor chamber in Manatralaya. His competitors have been further distanced from the CM's post after these very public controversies.

Earlier this month, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant filed a complaint with the anti-corruption bureau that Munde's department had awarded contracts worth Rs 206 crore for the purchase of chikki, medicines, water filters, carpets and educational material for aanganwadis without following the transparent process of inviting e-tenders. Even as the 35-year-old first-time minister claimed innocence and blamed rivals for attacking her because she was "acting in the interest of the public", there's little doubt that the controversy has dented her image and stripped her of at least some of the sympathy and support she won after her father's death in a car accident last year.

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Tawde, who shot into the limelight after he took over as the education minister, has been embroiled in two controversies quick succession. A television channel reported that the education minister wasn't actually a "BE (Electronics)" holder as claimed since his alma mater, the Dnayneshwar Vidyapeeth is an "educational trust" and not a university under the UGC or AICTE. The Congress promptly pounced on him for this discrepancy and has demanded his resignation from the education ministry. Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam even demanded that he be arrested like ex-Delhi law minister Jitendra Singh Tomar. Even as the BJP leadership remained silent on the issue, the high profile minister today found himself at the centre of yet another controversy-an alleged scam to the tune of Rs 191 crore. The Opposition has claimed that the state finance department has objected to a Rs 191 crore contract being awarded for fire extinguishers in state schools without inviting an e-tender.

The hooch tragedy which claimed over 100 lives in Maharashtra exposed the fault lines in the state leadership. Excise minister Eknath Khadse, seen as the number 2 in the cabinet, shifted the blame on to the home department and thereby the chief minister, distancing himself from the tragedy even as the Congress demanded his resignation on "moral grounds".

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With three of his prominent and high profile cabinet colleagues under public scrutiny and in the Opposition's line of fire, Fadnavis can rest easy. The dark clouds of the controversies would definitely have a silver lining for the chief minister.

Last updated: July 01, 2015 | 12:25
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