Mumbai: Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale on Monday alleged NCP state president Sunil Tatkare is opposing his bid for Raigad district guardian minister’s post.
The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) dismissed Gogawale’s allegations and appealed to Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde to rein in motormouth leaders.
Gogawale stated that the decision on the guardian minister’s appointment for Raigad will be taken soon by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, who heads NCP.
The guardian minister’s post for Raigad district has become a bone of contention between Shiv Sena and NCP, who are members of the BJP-led Mahayuti.
The friction between Gogawale and NCP minister Aditi Tatkare, daughter of Sunil Tatkare, had forced Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to stay the allotment of the post to Aditi.
“Eknath Shinde had proposed my name for the guardian minister post. The conflict arose for a different reason altogether. We whole-heartedly worked for the alliance candidate Sunil Tatkare during the Lok Sabha elections and ensured there were no mistakes in our efforts,” Gogawale told reporters.
He alleged despite Shiv Sena extending support to Sunil Tatkare, he is working against us and falsely blaming us.
“Since I am in the running for the guardian minister’s post, he (Sunil Tatkare) does not want me there,” Gogawale, the MLA from Mahad in Raigad district, alleged.
He alleged that Raigad MP Sunil Tatkare aligned with Opposition leaders to defeat him and other alliance members in the assembly elections.
“Sunil Tatkare made settlements with different individuals so that we would lose the elections. He even joined hands with Jayant Patil of the PWP to defeat Alibaug MLA Mahendra Dalvi.
“Similarly, he worked with our opponents against me. If we made any mistakes during his election campaign, let him point it out. His true nature is now out, and this is why we are angry,” Gogawale added.
He further accused Sunil Tatkare and his minister daughter Aditi of mistreating Shiv Sena workers.
“We did everything for them, and if they behave like this, how is it justified?” he asked.
Reacting to Gogawale’s remarks, NCP leader Suraj Chavan demanded that the Deputy CM take action against Gogawale.
“I urge Eknath Shinde to immediately rein in the people making accusations over the Raigad guardian minister’s post. If Gogawale claims Sunil Tatkare didn’t work for the alliance, why didn’t he raise this issue after the elections? Now that the guardian minister’s position is being discussed, does he think he can make baseless accusations? This will not be tolerated,” Chavan said.
Chavan added that the appointment of the Raigad guardian minister was a coordinated decision by all three senior alliance leaders.
“By speaking against this decision, Gogawale is challenging the authority of Fadnavis, Shinde, and Pawar,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
