Will Maharashtra soon get its first woman Chief Minister? Will Saamna Editor Rashmi Thackeray or NCP MP Supriya Sule replace Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, as he is likely to be indisposed for at least six months due to cervical spine surgery?
Thackeray’s stay in the hospital has triggered all kinds of speculation but the Shiv Sena, which heads the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, has ruled out the possibility of either Thackeray’s exit or a new CM taking over during the period of convalescence.
Shiv Sena insiders said that the Chief Minister will need two months to recover from the surgery and he will continue to head the government. CM Thackeray’s media advisor Harshal Pradhan told the Free Press Journal, ‘‘The Chief Minister is recovering. He is undergoing physiotherapy under the direct supervision of senior doctors at the HN Reliance Hospital. He attended the state cabinet meeting through a video conference on Thursday. He will resume work soon.’’
On the other hand, a senior minister said that the “chief minister is in the know of proposals of various departments and the decisions that need to be taken on a priority basis. Several ministers and departments have forwarded files to the Chief Minister’s Office for clearance and this will be attended to in due course.
The CM will also resume his briefing session and interact with officers through video conference on the advice of his medical team.’’ He further added that the government, which completes two years today, is functioning smoothly.
Another minister said that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the crucial planning and finance departments in addition to the excise department, has been present in Mantralaya for the last four days and he chairs meetings of various departments.
For instance, Pawar recently chaired a meeting on the delays in the settlement of farmers’ claims by insurance companies and decided that the government will take strong action by seeking the Centre’s help in this regard.
