Caretaker CM Shinde admitted to hospital, discussions on Maha govt formation cancelled

Thane, Dec 3 (IANS) Ahead of the swearing-in of the Maharashtra Cabinet on December 5, caretaker Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde was on Tuesday admitted to a hospital due to fever and weakness following which discussions on the government formation were cancelled again.

CM Shinde is being treated by a team of doctors at Jupiter Hospital and has been advised to take rest.

According to the Shiv Sena sources, his dengue and malaria tests were negative but due to a dip in white cells amid fever, he is feeling weak.

With Shinde’s hospitalisation, uncertainty looms large over Thursday’s oath-taking ceremony. Whether CM Shinde will join the government as the deputy chief minister is still not known as he has not yet opened his cards. It is also not known whether in the absence of CM Shinde other Shiv Sena legislators will take oath or not.

In view of his health situation, CM Shinde has cancelled all his meetings, including deliberations with party leaders and legislators with regard to government formation. Besides, CM Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar had planned to meet in the day to arrive at a consensus on the number of cabinet berths and allocation of ministries. However, it has also been put on hold. There was a stream of Shiv Sena leaders, including Mahendra Thorve, and Bharat Gogawale, who came to see CM Shinde but due to his illness, they met his son and party MP Shrikant Shinde and inquired about his health.

"Shinde's condition is not good. He has a throat infection and a fever. I have been with him since we went to Delhi last week. Doctors have advised him to take complete rest. Since becoming Chief Minister, he has worked continuously for two and a half years. After putting so much stress on the body, it is natural that the health deteriorates," said Shiv Sena Minister Shambhuraj Desai.

Shiv Sena legislator and spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said only the doctors will tell whether he will attend the swearing-in function or not. “Eknath Shinde is not desperate for power as power is not important to him," he added.

Shinde was suffering from a fever when he left for his native village Dare in Satara district last Friday. That had led to the cancellation of a meeting among the MahaYuti leaders over the government formation. Although Shinde returned from Dare village to Thane on Sunday he was taking rest and had cancelled all his meetings. Fadnavis had called up Shinde to inquire about his health. On Monday, BJP Minister Girish met Shinde.

Although Shinde has said that he would not become a hurdle or speed breaker in the government formation, he would abide by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision. He has claimed that he has worked as the common man’s chief minister and the people of the state want him to continue as the CM in the wake of Mahayuti’s landslide victory in the just concluded Assembly election.

Shinde has been pressing for the allocation of the home department to Shiv Sena though BJP is quite reluctant to leave it. Further, Shinde was fuming after state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule unilaterally made an announcement relating to the swearing-in function slated for December 5. Shiv Sena insiders objected to Bawankule’s move citing that the BJP has yet to elect its legislature party group leader, especially, when Shiv Sena and NCP have completed formalities in this regard.

Meanwhile, Mahayuti leaders, including BJP's Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Praveen Darekar, Shiv Sena legislator Sanjay Shirsat and NCP Ministers Hasan Mushrif and Dhananjay Munde, visited Azad Maidan earlier in the and took stock of preparations for the swearing-in ceremony scheduled on December 5.