Appointment of MSRTC chairman by Fadnavis took Shinde's Sena by surprise

APPOINTMENT OF MSRTC CHAIRMAN BY FADNAVIS TOOK SHINDE'S SENA BY SURPRISE

- SHAILESH GAIKWAD

The most talked about issue in the state's political circle last week was not the skeletons tumbling out of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde's cupboards, but chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's decision to appoint transport secretary Sanjay Sethi as chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). The decision came as a surprise for deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

The MSRTC, which runs state transport bus services across the state, especially in rural parts, comes under the administrative control of the transport department headed by Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik. While bus connectivity remains an important issue in rural Maharashtra, the MSRTC is in a bad shape financially. Towards the end of the previous Mahayuti government's tenure, Shinde had appointed Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale as MSRTC chief and was probably going to accommodate one of his MLAs who could not be made a minister in the post. However, Fadnavis's move has prevented the same.

An official from CMO said Fadnavis wants to put the loss-making MSRTC back on track and he doesn't trust Shinde or his men to do this. Fadnavis has already ordered a probe into the purchase of buses for the MSRTC during the Shinde-led Mahayuti regime.