The Mahayuti 2.0 cabinet cements Modi’s dominance and the RSS’s ideological oversight in Maharashtra
Mumbai: The absence of ministers aligned with Home Minister Amit Shah in the new Mahayuti cabinet led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has raised eyebrows, triggering speculations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) may have moved to curtail Shah’s influence in the state.
Maharashtra expanded its cabinet on Sunday, swearing in 33 cabinet ministers and six ministers of state at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur. In keeping with the performance and contribution of each of the three Mahayuti parties in the coalition’s stunning electoral success in the Assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the lion’s share with 16 cabinet berths, followed by nine for Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and eight for the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The reshuffle introduced a youthful tilt, with 18 new faces joining the council while as many as 13 former ministers were dropped during the cabinet expansion that took place in Nagpur.
Notably absent from the new cabinet are individuals known to be close to Shah, a political tactician often credited with the BJP’s meteoric rise over the past decade. As per sources who spoke to The Perfect Voice, the absence of veteran BJP leader from Chandrapur Sudhir Mungantiwar, considered to be a confidante of Shah in Maharashtra, underscored this pattern.
Over the past year, tensions between Shah and the RSS have bubbled to the surface. Dattatreya Hosabale, the Sarkaryavah (of the General Secretary) of the RSS, reportedly confronted Shah over the induction of senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan into the BJP.
An apparently curt retort issued by Shah to Hosbale - “Politics is not your business. Let us do politics in our own way” - did little to endear him to the Sangh.
Relations further soured when, following a public statement by BJP President J.P. Nadda that appeared critical of the RSS, Shah sought to meet RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to clarify the party’s position. As per sources, Shah’s overtures were reportedly rebuffed as Bhagwat reportedly refused to meet the Home Minister, signalling a rare public rebuke to the powerful BJP satrap from the Sangh leadership.
“Amitbhai had gone to meet Mohanji at the Sangh’s Jhandewalan’s office in Delhi. Mohanji was present there but he outrightly refused to meet Amitbhai,” said a source.
Mungantiwar’s exclusion is the latest consequences of this falling-out. Earlier, the ouster of C.T. Ravi as BJP general secretary was also seen as a stern message to Shah.
The biggest confirmation of Shah’s diminishing influence came when his bete noire Devendra Fadnavis was chosen for the coveted post of Maharashtra Chief Minister. By promoting Fadnavis – a leader with whom Shah has clashed in the past – the RSS and PM Modi are reportedly sending a message about where ultimate authority lies.
The RSS, for its part, has little tolerance for figures who appear to put personal ambition above the organization’s broader ideological goals. Shah’s brusque style and political pragmatism, while effective in winning some elections, have also queered the pitch in some states where friction between the top BJP brass and the local leadership has translated into bad results for the party. This has drawn criticism from Sangh stalwarts who prefer a more consultative approach.
Modi and Shah have long been seen as the twin architects of the BJP’s dominance. Though their partnership is often described as seamless, divergences in strategy and priorities occasionally surface. Shah is known for his hard-nosed approach and backroom deals - the BJP’s principal trouble-shooter.
The RSS’s priorities often differ from those of Shah, whose realpolitik sometimes clashes with the Sangh’s ideological purism. By sidelining Shah’s allies in Maharashtra, the RSS is likely signalling its preference for a less transactional and more ideologically aligned leadership in the state.
Furthermore, with Nadda’s term as party president nearing its end, speculation is rife that the next president will be someone at odds with Shah. This is likely to curtail Shah’s influence over state BJP leaderships.
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