No Credit Race Among Mahayuti Allies: Eknath Shinde

• Shinde dismisses competition among Mahayuti allies for credit.
• Full-page ads featuring CM Fadnavis sparked speculation over Maratha reservation credit.
• Shinde emphasizes state development and welfare of the poor as government priority.
• Maratha reservation issue recently addressed after activist hunger strike.

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 6th Sep: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday asserted that there was no competition among Mahayuti allies to claim credit for government work, stressing that he and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are working as a team.

Shinde made the remarks in response to full-page advertisements in prominent newspapers featuring only CM Fadnavis. One ad showed Fadnavis paying tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, while another depicted him offering prayers to Lord Ganesh on Anant Chaturdashi, the final day of the Ganpati festival. Both carried the word ‘Devabhau’ in Marathi, though sponsorship of the ads remains unknown.

Asked if the advertisements aimed to project Fadnavis as the architect of Maratha reservation, Shinde said, “We are not in a race to take credit…Whether it is the Maratha community or the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the work of delivering justice to them has been done by the Mahayuti government. The validation of this work was already received in the last assembly elections.”

He added, “Now Devendraji and I have started our second innings as a team. Going forward, our agenda remains the same – development of the state and helping the poor and needy.”

The Maratha reservation issue recently resurfaced when activist Manoj Jarange staged a five-day hunger strike in Mumbai starting August 29. Jarange ended the protest on September 2 after the state government accepted most of his demands. CM Fadnavis said the government had found a solution in the interest of the Maratha community.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance comprises BJP, Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).