Baba Siddique murder | Deputy CM Fadnavis comes under fire from allies, Opposition

Following the sensational murder of NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai on Saturday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, is facing the heat not only from the Opposition leaders but also some leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance partners.

NCP (Ajit Pawar) MLC and spokesperson Amol Mitkari termed Siddique’s murder the outcome of a “complete failure of the Home Department and Mumbai police” while stating that it has come as a major setback to his party. He said their party chief Ajit Pawar has lost a close aide.

“The murder highlights the dangerous security situation prevalent in Mumbai. We can understand if such a thing happened to an ordinary man… But that a former minister was killed shows the failure of the state home department,” Mitkari said. He said Siddique would not have been killed if the Mumbai police had taken the threat to his life seriously.

Also Read: Baba Siddique murder: Why Lawrence Bishnoi threatened Salman Khan

Siddique’s murder comes close on the heels of the killing of former NCP (Ajit Pawar) corporator Vanraj Andekar in Pune last month. Andekar was shot dead around 9 pm on September 1, near his residence in Nana Peth area of Pune city, while he was chatting with his cousin following a family function at their residence.

Rift among Mahayuti allies

Interestingly, the fissures between the BJP and the NCP (Ajit Pawar) have come to the fore on various occasions in the past as well. In July, an article in an RSS-affiliated weekly stated the BJP’s move to join hands with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP hasn’t gone down well with the party workers.

Even Fadnavis, addressing a media conclave last month echoed similar sentiments, attributing the ruling Mahayuti’s poor show in the Lok Sabha polls to the NCP’s inability to transfer its votes to allies. Notably, the Ajit Pawar faction contested four and emerged victorious on only one in the Lok Sabha elections. In August, BJP leaders and workers waved black flags at Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for not inviting them to a tourism development meeting in Pune district.

Opposition flays Fadnavis

The Opposition too has mounted a fierce attack on Fadnavis with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut calling for Fadnavis to be stripped of his post as the home minister. He said, “Till now, we have said that Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis is a complete failure. He should resign. But now, the governor should intervene and remove Fadnavis from his post of Home Minister.”

NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Congress also targeted Fadnavis, saying Siddique’s murder was shocking and shameful for the state and claimed “there was anarchy” in Mumbai.

“If a leader from the ruling alliance is not safe, how can the government keep the common man safe,” wondered NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil. In a statement, Patil also noted that earlier a BJP MLA in the state had opened fire in a police station while a former corporator was killed during a Facebook live session.

Also Read: Maharashtra | Why internal feud mars ruling Mahayuti alliance ahead of assembly polls

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole termed the situation a “complete breakdown of law and order”. He said, “Where is the government? They just come out with some narrative every time law and order is challenged. There is a breakdown in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and other parts of the state.”

Under constant scrutiny

This is not the first time that Fadnavis has come under attack from the Opposition. He has often been flayed by the MVA allies after a series of law and order incidents in the state over the last couple of years.

Consequently, questions were also raised over the image of a “capable administrator” that he built during his stint as the state’s chief minister between 2014 and 2019.

Fadnavis first drew flak in September last year after the police lathi-charged Maratha quota protesters led by activist Manoj Jarange-Patil in Jalna district. He faced uncomfortable questions not only from the Opposition parties but also from the ruling alliance partners. While CM Shinde’s intervention prompted Jarange-Patil to break his fast, Fadnavis was forced to publicly apologise for the lathicharge in a damage control exercise.

The Home Department again faced questions in February when BJP’s Kalyan East MLA Ganpat Gaikwad shot Shiv Sena worker Mahesh Gaikwad inside a police station over a land dispute. Within a week, former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar was shot dead by Mauris Noronha, a local businessman, during a Facebook live session at Borivali in Mumbai, sending shockwaves across the city.

Later, two bike-borne men, reportedly members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, fired two rounds at Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s home in April.

Also Read: Fadnavis a 'Maratha hater', govt operates as per his wishes: Jarange

The Home Department again faced some tough questions from the Bombay High Court as well as the Opposition after an incident of sexual abuse at a school in Badlapur came to light in August.

While the police came under fire for lapses in intelligence and procedure, the Opposition questioned the killing of the accused, Akshay Shinde, in an encounter. The fact that it happened in CM’s home turf of Thane made it even more tricky for the government.

Shinde-Fadnavis tussle?

Significantly, amid reports of the alleged tussle between CM Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis over the functioning of the police force, especially over transfer postings, a senior BJP minister, while talking to The Indian Express, admitted that the CM, being the head of the government, has the power to exercise his jurisdiction across departments.

“Even if it goes against our wishes, we need to compromise for the sake of coalition politics,” the minister said, pointing out that the government of the Congress and the undivided NCP faced similar problems during their rule between 1999 and 2014 as the NCP held the Home Department at the time and the CM was from the Congress.

Also Read: Badlapur shootout | Cops won’t clap if attacked: Fadnavis defends encounter

Now, with the announcement of the state Assembly polls expected anytime soon and a poor show in the Lok Sabha polls behind it, the ruling Mahayuti alliance faces a formidable challenge from the MVA as the latter will pull out all the stops to sully the image of the government over deteriorating law and order in the state while also targeting Fadnavis who is one of the most prominent faces of the ruling alliance heading into the crucial elections.