Meat ban row and flag hoisting snubs put Mahayuti on the back foot

The façade of cohesion in Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance is showing fresh cracks — this time over meat bans, ceremonial flag-hoisting duties, and long-pending appointments of district guardian ministers.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has openly criticised municipal orders shutting slaughterhouses and meat shops on Independence Day, calling such restrictions “wrong” and unsuited to the state’s diverse population. While acknowledging that bans linked to faith-based occasions such as Ashadhi Ekadashi or Mahavir Jayanti may be acceptable for a day, Pawar argued that imposing them on national occasions like Independence Day or Republic Day was unwarranted.

His remarks came after the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation ordered the closure of meat outlets on 15 August for Gokul Ashtami and again on 20 August for the Jain festival of Paryushan. Similar directives were issued by the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation and reportedly by Malegaon Municipal Corporation.

Opposition leaders pounced on the move. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray demanded the suspension of KDMC’s commissioner, insisting that the state has no business deciding people’s food choices on Independence Day. NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad vowed to eat non-vegetarian food in defiance of the order.

Even as this row brewed, another flashpoint emerged within the Mahayuti — the decision to let NCP minister Aditi Tatkare and BJP’s Girish Mahajan hoist the national flag in Raigad and Nashik, bypassing Shiv Sena hopefuls Bharat Gogawale and Dada Bhuse. The ceremonial snub hit a raw nerve, given that both posts of guardian minister for Raigad and Nashik have been vacant for eight months despite repeated lobbying by Sena leaders.

The Indian Express reported that on the eve of Independence Day, the state’s General Administration Department issued the circular naming Tatkare and Mahajan for the duties. The move prompted speculation of discontent when chief minister Eknath Shinde and Gogawale skipped Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. Opposition leader Sanjay Raut claimed the episode showed Shinde had been “put in his place” by BJP leaders.

Shinde’s camp denied any rift, citing prior travel commitments — Shinde in Srinagar, Gogawale in Delhi — and maintained that their absence had been pre-informed. Gogawale reiterated his claim to the Raigad guardian ministership while insisting he had no objection to Tatkare’s flag-hoisting.

The disquiet, however, goes beyond symbolic snubs. Sena MLAs, including Sanjay Gaikwad, have complained of not receiving development funds for over ten months, hinting at deeper frustrations within the alliance. In Nashik too, sidelining Bhuse for the ceremonial role has stirred murmurs, with minister Uday Samant urging colleagues to treat the list as a mere protocol exercise, not a political verdict.

Taken together, the controversies over dietary diktats, ceremonial duties and unfulfilled ministerial appointments point to a coalition struggling to project unity — and increasingly vulnerable to both internal friction and opposition jabs.

With agency inputs