Devendra Fadnavis reverses decision, names Sena minister MSRTC head | Mumbai news

Days after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde jointly rubbished reports of a rift between them, Fadnavis reversed his own decision of appointing a bureaucrat to head the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and has cleared the decks for the appointment of transport minister and Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik as chairman of the corporation.

The CM’s decision last month to appoint a bureaucrat was perceived as the result of the tussle that has been brewing between him and Shinde ever since the formation of the Mahayuti 2.0 government in December 2024. The latest move could be a bid to pacify Shinde, who has been disgruntled on account of Fadnavis staying a series of decisions and projects launched or announced by him during his tenure as chief minister of the previous Mahayuti government.

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Fadnavis on February 6 had appointed additional chief secretary (transport) Sanjay Sethi as chairman of MSRTC. It was the first time in the history of the corporation that a bureaucrat was appointed to this position, which was always held by either the transport minister or a political nominee. During his CMship, Shinde had appointed his party’s MLA Bharat Gogawale.

The appointment was seen as the continuing attempt by Fadnavis to cut the Sena down to size. In the first three months of his government, the CM took at least a dozen such decisions—he divested most Sena leaders of their Y+ security, refused to give the guardian ministership of Raigad and Nashik to the party, and stalled decisions such as procuring 1,310 buses for MSRTC and over 900 ambulances for the health department.

Shinde, on his part, has often made his unhappiness known. The cold war between the former and current chief minister had created an unease in the Mahayuti camp. There was talk in political circles that Shinde had even met union home minister Amit Shah to complain about Fadnavis’ moves when he was in Delhi to attend the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.

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Last week, however, in the press conference on the eve of the budget session, Fadnavis and Shinde claimed all was hunky-dory. “Everything is cool, but there is no cold war between us,” quipped Fadnavis. “All these are stories cooked up by the media.” On Friday, the CM declared in the assembly that none of the projects announced by Shinde had been stalled or stayed by him. It is against this backdrop that he has also reversed his MSRTC decision, and appointed Sarnaik as chairman.

Sarnaik told HT that it was the prerogative of the chief minister to decide who could be appointed as chairperson of MSRTC. “If I am appointed, I will try to do justice to the post,” he said. A Mantralaya official said that Fadnavis had cleared the file, and the appointment order would be issued in a day or two.

According to Mahayuti leaders, the CM has reportedly decided to smoke the peace pipe for now, as the government is facing flak on various fronts. “A senior minister had to resign even before the government completed three months, and other two ministers are facing serious charges,” said a Sena leader requesting anonymity. “Public sentiment is against the government on account of cases like the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. The two leaders must have decided to bury their differences at least for now.”

The leader also pointed to the cancellation of the appointment of Vaidehi Ranade as joint managing director of MSRTC. Ranade was appointed to the post to replace an officer who was believed to be very close to Shinde. “The appointment was cancelled within a month, and it is the second such example of ‘reconciliation’ between Shinde and Fadnavis,” said the Sena leader.