Who is Sena’s Sanjay Shirsat, once an aspiring minister now fuming at ‘finance dept’s Shakuni’

Mumbai: In the first term of the Mahayuti government, Sanjay Shirsat, from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, had been left waiting in the wings, hopeful for a long-promised cabinet expansion and a ministerial berth.

Now, as a minister in the second Mahayuti government, Shirsat is seething. Although he has received the promised ministerial berth, he claims he has not been given the necessary budget to effectively steer his department forward, with part of his department’s budget being diverted to cover payouts for the Ladki Bahin scheme.

“We are not increasing any tension within the Mahayuti. The alliance is strong… But if there is any injustice being meted out to my department, I have a right to speak about it. Whatever the arguments may be over funds, we will try and find a way out. The Chief Minister will find a solution to this,” Shirsat told reporters in Mumbai Monday. Earlier, Saturday, Shirsat had, without naming Pawar, lashed out at the “finance department’s Shakuni” for slashing his department’s budget.

Shirsat, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Aurangabad West assembly constituency, has always been known as a leader unafraid to speak his mind. This time, the spark for his frustration is the diversion of funds from his social justice department and the tribal development department to fulfil payment obligations for the Ladki Bahin scheme, which falls under the women and child development department. Aditi Tatkare, a leader from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, serves as minister for the state women and child development department.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawar, also the Mahayuti’s finance minister, clarified Saturday that the decision was neither wrong nor politically motivated. He explained that funds earmarked for Scheduled Castes under the social justice department were being utilised to pay beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin scheme belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Likewise, funds from the tribal development department were being drawn to make payments to beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin scheme from the Scheduled Tribes.

“The beneficiaries from the general category are being paid with the rest of the budget. The decision was taken in the cabinet. There is nothing wrong with that,” Pawar told reporters while defending the move.

The Ladki Bahin scheme had been introduced in the final year of the first Mahayuti government, when the Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde was Chief Minister. Under the scheme, eligible women are entitled to receive Rs 1,500 a month, with the Mahayuti having pledged to increase the amount to Rs 2,100 a month if voted to power again. However, the promised increase has yet to materialise.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Shirsat said that although he was not opposing the Ladki Bahin scheme, it had undeniably placed a significant strain on the state’s finances. “How to manage the state’s finances is a larger question. It is true that we cannot increase the payout from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100. But we are going to solve the financial challenges before the government. As of now, people will get Rs 1,500 (and not Rs 2,100).”

Meanwhile, the opposition Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) alleged that a proxy war was underway in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government.

“The battle in the state has reached to the extent that he (Sanjay Shirsat) is asking for the social welfare to be shut down, calling Ajit Pawar Shakuni… those who are calling Ajit Pawar ‘Shakuni’ will tomorrow not think twice before calling Fadnavis Duryodhan,” the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) stated in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana. The editorial warned that sooner or later, one of the Mahayuti partners would end up swallowing the other.

“Who will swallow whom will have to be seen,” the Saamana editorial concluded.

Since the formation of the second Mahayuti government, there have been recurring power tussles among the three partners. First, Shinde faced a snub when Chief Minister Fadnavis overturned certain decisions he had taken. Next came a row over guardian ministerships for districts such as Nashik and Raigad, which Fadnavis had allocated to a BJP and an NCP minister, respectively. Shinde objected and succeeded in getting the decisions reversed. There have also been murmurs among ministers from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena regarding the finance department allegedly withholding files.

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The alleged injustice to the social welfare department

Shirsat pointed out that, as per norms, the social justice department ought to receive 11.8 percent of the state’s total budget. Given the scale of the budget, he argued, his department should have been allocated at least Rs 29,500 crore.

“But how much did I get? Rs 22,658 crore. And what all have they burdened this with? Payments for the Ladki Bahin scheme, the Gharkul Yojana, Mukhyamantri Baliraja Veej Sawalat Yojana etc. Almost Rs 6,000 crore have been reduced on these counts,” Shirsat told reporters.

The leader stated that Deputy Chief Minister Pawar may not have acted deliberately against him or his department but could have been “misguided” by someone from the finance department.

Shirsat further shared that about a month ago, he had approached Chief Minister Fadnavis, requesting a more sympathetic outlook towards his department.

“I had also written to him to seek an assurance of getting the budget that my department needs. Give me the full amount first. After that, if you want to divert any funds, we can think about it at the time,” Shirsat said.

He added that when he received the file in February instructing him to earmark funds for the Ladki Bahin scheme, he had strongly objected.

Without sufficient funds, Shirsat warned, delays in payments for scholarships, the development of hostels, and similar projects would inevitably arise.

“If our budget is curtailed then we will have to face these issues,” Shirsat said.

Shirsat’s cabinet colleague Hasan Mushriff, from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, attributed the controversy to Shirsat’s relative inexperience as a minister.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Mushriff said, “Sanjay Shirsat is a good friend, but he has newly become a minister. I have served as minister for 19-20 years. He should have sat with the officials from the finance department and understood the situation, and also spoken to the Chief Minister had he not been satisfied. But going before the media without understanding the whole situation is not appropriate, and calling someone ‘Shakuni’ is not appropriate.”

From a minister in waiting to a minister fighting for funds

When Eknath Shinde rebelled against the Uddhav Thackeray-led undivided Shiv Sena, Shirsat had been among the leaders involved in the plan. The MLA, currently serving his fourth term, had felt overlooked under the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and had been growing impatient.

A source close to Shirsat said, “Even much before Uddhav Thackeray formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Shirsat and a few other MLAs had the feeling that Thackeray is only keeping a few leaders from Mumbai close to him, and overlooking rural MLAs.”

Soon after Shinde’s rebellion, a sharply-worded letter addressed to Thackeray surfaced—written by none other than Shirsat. In the letter, he accused Thackeray of remaining inaccessible to party leaders and being surrounded by a select coterie of favourites. He also recounted how Shiv Sena leaders like himself had waited for hours outside Varsha, the Chief Minister’s official residence, only to leave frustrated.

Following the political upheaval in the Shiv Sena and the formation of the Mahayuti government comprising the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the BJP with Shinde as Chief Minister, Shirsat had been among the hopefuls eyeing a cabinet berth but was ultimately left out.

For a full year thereafter, there had been talk of a cabinet expansion to accommodate leaders like Shirsat and Bharat Gogawale. However, a split in the NCP in July 2023 and the induction of Ajit Pawar and his loyalists into the cabinet meant Shiv Sena leaders like Shirsat had to wait even longer.

In September 2024, then Chief Minister Shinde sought to placate such disappointed hopefuls by assigning them chairmanships of state corporations. Shirsat was appointed to head the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the planning authority for the Navi Mumbai region.

Finally, in December this year, when the second Mahayuti government was sworn in, Shirsat secured his place as one of the 39 new ministers inducted by Chief Minister Fadnavis.

“I am happy that I am getting this after 40 years of my work,” Shirsat said at the time, speaking about his long wait.

Frustrated by the funds situation, Shirsat sent a clear message Monday. His patience has run out.

(Edited by Radifah Kabir)

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