Worries in Mahayuti camp

Ajit Pawar's frustration over flood relief demands highlights tensions as farmers seek compensation and loan waivers, ahead of local elections in Maharashtra.

It is not unusual that deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar loses his cool. There are several videos of him giving an earful to either government officers or party colleagues. But the way he spoke during the tour of flood-affected areas this week, it was more or less clear that the ruling Mahayuti politicians are irked over demands from people and sometimes losing patience.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar interacts with people during inspection of a flood-hit village in Solapur district on September 24, 2025. (PTI)

“Are we playing marbles here,”he retorted when a flood-affected person posed a question.

With crops on about 38 lakh hectares lost, there is demand among farmers for generous compensation. Further, with soil erosion in many flood-hit places, farmers are staring at a year or couple of years without any crops and demands for a loan waiver are growing louder.

Since local elections are round the corner, the ruling Mahayuti will have to formulate a compensation package that can pacify farmers. But waiving off farm loans could cost up to ₹23,000 crore to the state exchequer, at a time when the state’s revenue is expected to take a hit of about ₹10,000 crore due to reduction in goods and services tax (GST). Little wonder, finance officials are scratching their heads, wondering where the money would come from.

Pawar seems to be getting irritated over the same, according to finance department officials. The centre is expected to help with the compensation package, but for a loan waiver, the state government will have to find its own ways to handle it.

The scale of the crisis is big and the relief and rescue work has not been great. At several places, villagers are asking visiting politicians why nobody from the government had turned up for the first 3-4 days after they were displaced or rescued. Disaster management minister Girish Mahajan and agriculture minister Dattatray Bharne faced the ire of the people. The state administration and finance department will be tested while providing relief to the affected people.

Munde’s plea for ‘work’

Former minister Dhananjay Munde’s remarks at a function to felicitate state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare in his home district, Raigad, last week have become a talking point.

Munde, nephew of BJP leader late Gopinath Munde and a prominent OBC face of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, had to resign in March following the arrest of his close aide Walmik Karad in connection with the brutal murder of a sarpanch in Beed district.

Pawar then picked veteran OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal for the cabinet minister’s post vacated by Munde. Speaking at Tatkare’s function, Munde, who is trying to make a comeback, publicly requested the former to give him some responsibility.

“You have been guiding us...Don’t keep me idle. Give me some responsibility,” he said. All those on the dais knew what it meant: Reinstate me as a minister.

In his speech, Tatkare said party seniors (by which he meant party boss Ajit Pawar) would take a decision on the same. When he was quizzed by mediapersons a day later, Ajitdada said Munde’s request would be considered. It has led to speculations about whether the Beed legislator would return to the cabinet.

Meanwhile, Bhujbal doled out some advice for Munde: “He should now lead the struggle of the OBCs as their quota share could get curbed due to the Marathas.”

Gawli to enter the fray again?

Following the release of underworld don turned politician Arun Gawli from prison, speculations are rife that he will enter the fray for the Mumbai civic polls. Gawli is likely to field his two daughters – Geeta, who was a corporator earlier, and Yogita, who is likely to contest the civic polls for the first time. He is also likely to field some more candidates under the banner of his party, Akhil Bharatiya Sena. These candidates are likely to be fielded from Byculla and other areas in Mumbai’s Marathi heartland.

Would this mean that there will be direct confrontation between Gawli and the Thackeray brothers who are focussing on areas with majority of Marathi speakers to win seats in the civic polls? Is he being supported from within the ruling Mahayuti? Leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are keenly watching the developments and trying to get answers to these questions.

Tough task at hand

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday appointed senior IAS officer Sonia Sethi as general manager of the troubled Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking of the Mumbai civic body. Sethi had an impressive tenure in the MMRDA as well as in charge of the disaster management apparatus as relief and rehabilitation secretary.

As such, she is expected to put the BEST on track. This is a tough task, considering the poor financial condition of the undertaking which has a cumulative liability of ₹9,286 crore and poor revenue. Transport experts insist that the BEST bus service is needed for the city despite its shortcomings since it is still the second largest mass transport system in Mumbai after the suburban train network.

Having a senior officer such as Sethi as general manager could actually help the BEST since she would know how to put things in order, though past experience is that several IAS officers choose such a responsibility as a stop-gap arrangement till they get a desired posting, said civic officials.