Turf war between Fadnavis and Shinde escalates with ‘file war’

Deputy CM wants ministers to route files through him, while CM tells urban development dept to bypass him entirely

- Surendra P Gangan

The tacit turf war between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has intensified, expressed in a ‘file war’.

In a break from ministerial norm, Shinde has asked all the ministers who belong to his party, Shiv Sena, to route all their files through him before they are sent to CM Fadnavis for a final nod. People in the know have told HT that this was brought into practice over the last two weeks by ministers (nine cabinet ministers and two state ministers) of the party. On the other hand, Fadnavis recently directed the urban development department (UDD), helmed by Shinde, to send all the files related to funds and ongoing schemes directly to his office.

Meanwhile, Shinde’s diktat, followed by departments such as industries, health, education and transport, among others, has resulted ina pileup at his desk. ‘According to officials of respective departments, “several major proposals are stuck because of the tussle between the two”.