Maharashtra Opposition claims tussle in state govt, claims two officials appointed for BEST GM post

Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal on Wednesday questioned the state govt on the matter. File Pic

The Opposition and trade union leaders in Maharashtra on Wednesday criticised the state government over two different officials being appointed to manage the additional charge of the post of General Manager of BEST, claiming it was the result of a tussle between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde.

The post fell vacant after the retirement of S.V.R. Srinivas on July 31.

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Sharing the two orders on social media, state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said, "1 post, 2 orders, 2 leaders -- is this a double gang war of the double-engine government?"

However, BEST clarified that Asheesh Sharma, IAS (MH: 1997), presently Commissioner of Goods and Services Tax, Maharashtra, was given additional charge of BEST Mumbai.

"On August 1, 2025, after the retirement of the General Manager of BEST, S.V.R. Srinivas Rao, B.P.S., additional charge was given to Brihanmumbai Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Ashwini Joshi as an interim arrangement till further orders. However, now Commissioner of Goods and Services Tax, Asheesh Sharma, has been given the additional charge of General Manager, BEST," BEST spokesperson Sudas Sawant said.

There were reports of a lack of coordination between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and even within the administration.

The state government apparently issued conflicting orders appointing two different IAS officers to the additional charge of General Manager of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST).

On August 5, the Urban Development department (UD) headed by Eknath Shinde issued orders assigning the charge to IAS officer Dr Ashwini Joshi, while the General Administration Department (GAD) headed by CM Fadnavis issued an appointment for IAS officer Asheesh Sharma to the same post (additional charge of the GM, BEST).

The overlapping designations have raised questions over coordination within the state machinery and the functioning of critical civic bodies in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media about the development, Fadnavis said, "It is not me (Fadnavis) but the BMC that does the BEST appointment."