After grouse over sharing ‘ad-space’, Shinde-Fadnavis share chopper

MUMBAI: After two days of anxiety over sharing advertising space in the media, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday ‘shared’ a helicopter ride.

The duo hopped into the same chopper for a function in Palghar and even returned in the same way this afternoon to Mumbai, said officials.

The helicopter took off from Mumbai, dropped them at Palghar, barely 30-minutes flight, they landed and attended a government event and then returned by the same chopper a few hours later.

This was in stark contrast to the past two days after the ruling Shiv Sena’s ‘ad-blitzkrieg’ that created many heartburns in the ally Bharatiya Janata Party.

For a couple of days, an apparently peeved Fadnavis even avoided sharing the dais with the CM for certain events, though the official reason cited was he suffered from an ear infection.

Today, things were quite hunky-dory, the duo sat beside each other, smiling, exchanging notes and jokes, and even praising each other, and the political situation was turning normal.

“Our friendship with Fadnavis is very old. It’s like ‘Jay-Veeru’ or ‘Dharam-Veer’, a strong ‘Fevicol Bond’ and will never snap. He has done a lot for the state and we shall continue working together,” said Shinde.

“We have been working with Shinde for the past 25 years. The (Shiv Sena-BJP) alliance government is in power now, and will continue working together even tomorrow. One stray advertisement or statement does not affect our relations,” declared Fadnavis.

BJP MP Kapil M. Patil said that the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance is like the LIC - for this life and even after life.

Both Shinde-Fadnavis also took the opportunity to take potshots at the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi CM Uddhav Thackeray, saying they were a ‘hands-on regime’ and not a ‘Facebook live’ government. (IANS)

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