A day after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray released names of guardian ministers for all districts, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief and State Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat has expressed unwillingness to take up his responsibility as Kolhapur’s guardian minister.
Sources said Mr. Thorat would have been comfortable had he been assigned Ahmednagar which is his sphere of influence. Two ministers from Kolhapur district — senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif, and Satej ‘Bunty’ Patil of Congress, who is Minister of State for Home — have been allotted Ahmednagar and Bhandara districts respectively.
“I am not personally keen on accepting it. I am already holding two major posts [Revenue Minister and MPCC chief] which require my complete attention. I will speak to the Chief Minister about it and urge him to consider a Congress Minister who has not been given any guardian responsibility…as I am senior, I feel younger people must be given a chance,” said Mr. Thorat, adding that he would be writing to Mr. Thackeray to reconsider his appointment.
Given their strong influence in Kolhapur, both Mr. Mushrif, an oft-elected MLA from the Kagal constituency, and Mr. Patil, an MLC and a tall leader in the district’s cooperative sector, were in the running for the post here.
Three ministers, all from the NCP, have been made guardian ministers in their respective constituencies in the five ‘sugar belt’ districts in western Maharashtra — Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar (Pune), Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil (Sangli) and Cooperation Minister Balasaheb Patil (Satara).
“In addition to getting the Revenue portfolio as well as being MPCC chief, Mr. Thorat would naturally have been keen on guardianship of Ahmednagar, where he would have consolidated his position against his nemesis, ex-Congressman-turned BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil,” said an analyst.
However, a section within the Congress feels that Mr. Thorat ought to step down as MPCC chief and make way for a ‘new face’ to galvanise the Congress rank-and-file across the State, and western Maharashtra in particular, ahead of the crucial 2022 civic body polls.
“Mr. Thorat’s politics has mainly been restricted to Ahmednagar district. He lacks the necessary organisational experience needed to resuscitate moribund party organisations. Moreover, the post of an MPCC chief is a full-time job requiring a leader’s undivided attention,” said a Congress leader, requesting anonymity.
He further observed that the scenario was ripe for a change in the MPCC leadership as the party had performed well in the Zilla Parishad polls.
“This is the right time for the Congress to cash in on this success by getting someone senior like [former Chief Minister] Prithviraj Chavan, who has not been assigned any responsibility, to helm the MPCC,” said a city-based political observer.
However, yet another section of Congress leaders feel that Mr. Thorat’s ‘rejection’ of his appointment as Kolhapur’s guardian minister is symptomatic of the resentment brewing within the party and smacks of opportunism and self-interest.
