NEW DELHI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday likened himself to the “pilot” of the state’s development journey, with Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as his “co-pilots” during the previous Mahayuti government.
Shinde made the remarks while inaugurating an airport and commercial passenger flight service in Amravati, eastern Maharashtra, in the presence of chief minister Fadnavis and fellow deputy CM Pawar.
Referring to the timeline of the project, Shinde said that work on the Amravati airport began during Fadnavis’ tenure as chief minister (2014–2019), but stalled when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government took over in 2019. He claimed that the project regained momentum after the Mahayuti coalition came to power in 2022, calling it a “people’s government.”
In a veiled jab at the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA regime, Shinde said, “Several projects and welfare schemes had been shut down and development had stalled before the Mahayuti government came.”
Describing the political transition with an aviation metaphor, he said, “When development and welfare schemes took off, I was the pilot of the aircraft and Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were co-pilots. Now, Fadnavis is the pilot and the two of us are co-pilots. The pilot has changed now, but the ‘development aircraft’ is the same and we are moving forward at the same speed.”
Shinde, who led a dramatic split from the Shiv Sena in 2022—a party founded by Balasaheb Thackeray in 1966—formed a new alliance with the BJP under the Mahayuti banner.
He not only succeeded Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister but also wrested control of the Shiv Sena name and symbol, effectively claiming the legacy of the Thackeray-founded party.