Who Will Be Pune’s Next Guardian Minister: Ajit Pawar or Chandrakant Patil?
Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pune, 6th December 2024: The position of Guardian Minister holds significant importance in every district of Maharashtra. Similarly, discussions about who will assume the role of Guardian Minister for Pune District have intensified. Speculations are rife, particularly with two former Guardian Ministers who served during the last Mahayuti government, Chandrakant Patil and Ajit Pawar, both emerging as potential candidates.
After Mahayuti came to power in 2022, Kothrud MLA Chandrakant Patil was appointed Guardian Minister of Pune alongside Maharashtra’s Minister of Higher and Technical Education. However, following Ajit Pawar’s rebellion against his uncle, his joining of the Mahayuti government, and the subsequent split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) last year, Pawar assumed the roles of Deputy Chief Minister, Finance Minister, and Guardian Minister of Pune District.
Both leaders secured comfortable victories in their respective constituencies—Patil in Kothrud and Pawar in Baramati—during the recent elections. This has reignited the debate about who will be the next Guardian Minister of Pune. Addressing the media, Chandrakant Patil remarked, “You ask questions to people who have the same questions and the same answers. I do whatever my superiors tell me,” avoiding a direct response.
Ajit Pawar has taken the oath as Deputy Chief Minister for a record sixth term, with Devendra Fadnavis assuming the role of Chief Minister and former CM Eknath Shinde also taking on a Deputy Chief Minister position. As ministry allocations are expected before the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly’s Winter Session on 16th December, the race for key positions, including Pune’s Guardian Minister, has intensified.
