A year is not too short a period to assess the performance of a coalition government. As the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena (SS) government completes one year in office, it is busy defining the top priorities for future development of the state.It has been a roller coaster ride since day one and given the skewed political scenario in the state, a few more twists and turns are expected in the near future which has not deterred Fadnavis from going ahead with his vision of development while doing a tight rope walk due to the political pulls and pressures.
Fadnavis has had the full backing of the government in Delhi after the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state legislative assembly elections held in 2014. He had beaten several senior aspirants for the top post with his credentials being his image as an erudite but aggressive legislator and his personal integrity. However, it fell short to run the administration of one of the most advanced states in the country whose polity has been fractured beyond repair over the last two decades.
The test of his capabilities began from day one when he had to prove majority in the state legislative assembly and the miffed SS preferred to sit in the opposition. His government survived with the tacit support by the Sharad Pawar led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which provided unconditional outside support to the government. A faction within the BJP wanted to continue with the situation on the basis of outside support from the NCP, but Fadnavis rightly insisted on inducting the SS into the cabinet for imparting political stability to his government.
The outside support by the NCP has made the SS nervous and even after one year of rule, the party is yet to reconcile to the fact that the BJP has a plan B ready in case the Sena decides to walk out of the government. Sena is still sulking over the fact that the BJP is the dominant partner in the state. Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray publicly complained about the secondary role assigned to his ministers in the cabinet and expressed hope that the CM will ensure better coordination. The other smaller partners are still waiting for their share of power and the CM does not seem to be in a hurry to reshuffle his cabinet. He may, however, make a move in consultation with Delhi once Bihar results are declared and the political climate becomes clearer.
Fadnavis also has to walk an extra mile to pacify distraught seniors — including Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse, education minister Vinod Tawde and finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar — seasoned stalwarts with proven political acumen in running the political machinery as well as running the administration. Fadnavis has realised that unless he remains in the good books of PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, it will be difficult for him to survive for long. He will also have to build a team of trusted seniors and use it as a shield against his detractors within the party as well as the opposition.
Despite all these, the Fadnavis government has to perform as promised during the election campaign. Initially, they blamed it all on the Congress-NCP misrule of the last 15 years, but people are not interested in blame game and want results. The fiscal condition of the state’s economy is not healthy and there is no alternative before the government than to increase revenue by way of additional taxes. The CM, who was known for his speeches on the economy from the opposition benches, has to now take steps for improving infrastructure, bringing in direct investment to the state and reducing the bureaucratic delays.
It is high time the government conducts a review of the situation and charts out its course of action. The government initiative to make a few services time bound is a great relief for harassed citizens who run from pillar to post to get simple documents like death and birth certificates. His government’s flagship water conservation project, the ‘Jalyukta Shivar Yojna’,will be implemented in 6,200 villages, out of which 1.2 lakh projects, costing only Rs 1,400 crore, have been completed. Fourteen drought affected districts have been brought under the food security Act. Taking up mega infrastructure projects, doing away with LBT in 25 municipal corporations, e-tendering of all government contracts are some of the pursuits of the state government during the year under consideration. A few decisions were also taken with political considerations, such as the memorial for Dr Ambedkar on the Indu mill compound, the purchase of Dr Ambedkar’s residence in London, the push to the project for setting up a Shivaji Maharaj statue in the Arabian Sea, etc.
However, the government must take concrete policy decisions to give clear cut directions to the bureaucracy. The state should be prepared to face competition in attracting direct foreign investments, take long term initiatives for farm sector to stop suicides by farmers, urgent steps for mitigating the effects of drought, and implement the promise of making roads in the state toll-free.
The CM had a tough time in handling many controversies arising out of decisions taken by his government such as the ban on beef, the new norms for use of the sedition law, the pending issues of reservations for Muslims and Marathas and the Dhangar community, and the sudden transfer of Mumbai police chief Rakesh Maria. The government is yet to strengthen the Lokayukta Act as promised during the election campaign. Many such issues need detailed debate. The CM’s promise of zero tolerance towards corruption also has to be tested on ground in many cases of investigation under way. Since Fadnavis is in charge of the home department, he has to handle law and order cases with sensitivity, especially the demand to ban fundamentalist fringe organisations in the state.
Looking back at the performance, Fadnavis will have to show greater resolve in handling bureaucracy to ensure better implementation of many policy initiatives. He also has to take stock of these policy initiatives and deal with the political situation with dexterity to avoid stepping onto land mines littered on his way ahead.
