Hectic touring, Delhi visits take a toll on Shinde as doctors advise rest

The development has raised questions on whether the long-awaited Maharashtra Cabinet expansion will be delayed further

Ever since Eknath Shinde became Maharashtra Chief Minister by splitting the Shiv Sena with his intra-party rebellion, his life has been characterised by a whirligig activity of tours, meetings and night visits to New Delhi.

This frenetic activity has now taken a toll on Mr. Shinde’s health with doctors on August 4 advising the Chief Minister a complete rest for the next few days. According to sources, while Mr. Shinde has cancelled his public engagements, he will nonetheless continue with the State’s work and running the ‘two-man’ government of himself and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from the State Secretariat (Mantralaya) and his residence.

The development has also raised questions on whether the long-awaited Cabinet expansion will be delayed further.  

Since he took power on June 30, Mr. Shinde has made no less than six trips to the capital, at times for events like the swearing-in of the new President Droupadi Murmu, but more often to confer with BJP top brass Amit Shah and J. P. Nadda to decide the nature of new Maharashtra Cabinet since his coup.

This in turn has drawn flak from the Opposition, notably the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena faction and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which have dubbed Mr. Shinde a puppet of the BJP at the Centre.

Sena MP and Thackeray confidant Sanjay Raut, now in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), has said this is the first time in the State’s political history that a Chief Minister from Maharashtra has had to go to Delhi to take his orders so frequently.

Mr. Raut had called Mr. Shinde’s Delhi visits “a blow to the State’s pride” while stating that it was humiliating that a Shiv Sena leader had to kowtow to the Centre whereas in the past BJP leaders (including Mr. Shah) had had to come down to ‘Matoshree’ (The Thackerays’ private residence in Mumbai) to pay their respects to the Sena chief and iron out political deals.