Kumbh 2027 in view, BJP may keep Nashik guardian minister post

With the Kumbh Mela to be held in Nashik in 2027, BJP may retain the guardian ministership of the district. If this happens, it will be another setback for the Shiv Sena led by deputy CM Eknath Shinde which has been claiming the post.

BJP functionaries said that in view of the Kumbh Mela, BJP's top brass has said the guardian minister's post should not be given to allies but be retained by the party. The NCP has taken the stand that if the Nashik guardian minister's post is not given to it, the post in Raigad should stay with it.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had held a review meeting for organization of the Kumbh Mela, for which BJP minister Girish Mahajan was present but no minister of the Sena was.

The Congress's Vijay Wadettiwar took a dig at the Mahayuti govt over the issue, saying that instead of fighting for the post , the guardian minister should be appointed on a rotational basis. "One year, BJP should take the post and the next year, NCP should take it. There is a game called ‘kho kho', famous in Maharashtra, where people knock each other out. BJP and NCP should teach their ministers the same game," Wadettiwar said.

Mahajan has cited his past experience as guardian minister of Nashik (2014-19), when the Kumbh Mela was last organised in the district in 2015, as a reason to be reappointed to the position. On Jan 18, the state issued a GR announcing guardian ministers, in which Mahajan was made in charge of Nashik. Within 24 hours, the state's general administration department (GAD) issued another GR and stayed the appointments for Nashik and Raigad (for which NCP's Aditi Tatkare had been named).

Reports suggest that internal strife in the Mahayuti was the primary reason for these appointments getting postponed. The Shiv Sena wants Dada Bhuse as guardian minister for Nashik and Bharat Gogawale for Raigad.

Bhuse had been guardian minister for Nashik in the previous term, but now Mahajan is hoping that the political deadlock will be resolved and he will get the post. "I had suggested Bhuse's name back then, and he was made guardian minister. But now, with the Kumbh Mela approaching, I should be the guardian minister. In 2015, when the Kumbh Mela was last held in Nashik, I was guardian minister. We organized a clean and beautiful Kumbh Mela," Mahajan had said.