Not upset, says Shinde amid reports of rift with CM

Mumbai: Amid reports of a rift between him and CM Devendra Fadnavis, DCM Eknath Shinde on Thursday said that he was not unhappy or upset in any way. Shinde said he was present for the state cabinet meeting on Tuesday and that he was backing CM Fadnavis fully.
"Who said I'm unhappy or upset? I'm not unhappy or upset. I attended the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. There was a discussion on many topics and many good decisions were made. I'm fully with CM Fadnavis," Shinde said.
On Monday, Shinde did not attend a meeting headed by Fadnavis to review flagship schemes in the social sector, including the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, which once again gave rise to speculation of a rift between the two. On Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut claimed that a Shinde Sena MLA told him that "Shinde is not ready to come out of the pain of being humiliated" (for not being made CM). The MLA reportedly told Raut that during the previous 2.5 years, the then CM Shinde and Fadnavis were at odds and in two directions. Now Fadnavis is taking his revenge, the MLA is said to have told Raut. The MLA reportedly said Shinde has "reached a state of trance and is heartbroken".
Raut said the MLA told him that Amit Shah had promised that Shinde will be CM again after the 2024 assembly polls and asked him to spend money in the elections. But after the results, Shah didn't keep his promise. Raut said the MLA told him Shinde is convinced that his and his people's phones are being tapped and he suspects that Delhi's investigative agencies are monitoring his movements. Raut made the revelations in Rok Thok in his weekly column in Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamna.