Turmoil In Maharashtra Once Again? Devendra Fadnavis Writes To Ajit Pawar Opposing Nawab Malik's Inclusion In Alliance

While around 11 months are left for the next Maharashtra assembly elections, the state is seeing yet another friction within the ruling NDA alliance. The state appears to have failed to gain a stable government despite Shiv Sena (Shinde), BJP and the NCP having a majority mark. There have been reports of Shinde Sena being upset with NCP's inclusion and now the BJP leader and state deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has openly written a letter to his ally Ajit Pawar cautioning him against including Nawab Malik in the ruling alliance. The development indicates that another storm is brewing in the ruling alliance.

In his letter to Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis expressed opposition to the induction of NCP MLA Nawab Malik in the grand alliance. In his letter to Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis said that while Malik has the right to attend the assembly as an MLA and BJP has no personal animosity against him, it would not be appropriate to induct him into the ruling alliance considering the kind of allegations he is facing. 

"We agree that it is your prerogative (to decide) who should be inducted in your party. But every constituent party (of the Maha Yuti) has to think as to whether it would harm the alliance. Hence, we are opposed to this," Fadnavis added. 

सत्ता येते आणि जाते.
पण सत्तेपेक्षा देश महत्वाचा… pic.twitter.com/WDzm3Pjo3f — Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) December 7, 2023

Malik is an accused in an Enforcement Directorate case. Out on medical bail after the ED arrested him in February 2022 in a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides, Malik attended the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature here for the first time on Thursday. He sat on the last bench in the assembly, next to the MLAs of the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party. 

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Ambadas Danve and Sushma Andhare targeted the government over Nawab Malik sitting with the treasury benches. Malik is yet to take a side in the Ajit Pawar vs Sharad Pawar battle. 

Maharashtra has suffered a lot since the 2019 assembly elections due to the ambitions of the Shiv Sena (UBT) which was demanding a CM post from its then ally BJP. Failing to reach an agreement with the BJP, Shiv Sena joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state. However, the government collapsed due to defection in the Shiv Sena. Later, the state saw another political crisis when the NCP split into two with Ajit Pawar parting ways with Sharad Pawar to join the ruling coalition of Shiv Sena (Shinde) and BJP. (With agency inputs)