Ending a 19-month-old tussle within the Mahayuti, the Maharashtra government on Monday finally appointed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Girish Mahajan for Nashik and Shiv Sena minister Bharat Gogawale for Raigad.

The General Administration Department in an August 17 order recorded Girish Mahajan as the guardian minister of Nashik and Bharat Gogawale as the guardian minister of Raigad.

The two appointments had become a bone of contention between the Mahayuti alliance partners – BJP, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena since January 2025.

The final arrangement gives Nashik to the BJP and Raigad to the Shiv Sena, ending one of the longest unresolved disagreements within the ruling alliance.

BJP vs Shiv Sena for guardian minister posts

In January 2025, Girish Mahajan was appointed Nashik guardian minister, but the decision was stayed the next day after Eknath Shinde-led Sena objected to it.

The party had sought Nashik for minister Dada Bhuse.

Shiv Sena had also objected to the appointment of NCP leader Aditi Tatkare as Raigad guardian minister, seeking the post for Bharat Gogawale. Tatkare’s appointment was later stayed.

The deadlock continued even as both districts saw competing claims from the three Mahayuti partners.

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The appointment of a guardian minister in Nashik also assumed significance because of the upcoming Simhastha Kumbh. Despite uncertainty over his appointment, Girish Mahajan continued to handle Kumbh preparations.

In Nashik, Bhuse remained the Shinde-led Sena’s claimant, while senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal also pressed his party’s case. Bhujbal, who represents Yeola, has a long political association with the district.

The appointment now formally gives Girish Mahajan both a direct role in Nashik and the responsibility of overseeing the district as its guardian minister.

The decision on Raigad gives the Shiv Sena the post it had sought since the original appointments were announced in January 2025.