Two months into job, Uddhav Thackeray goes on leave

A screen grab Shiv Sena workers greeting CM Uddhav Thackeray as he arrives in Mahabaleshwar on Friday

Just over two months into his new role, Chief Minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray has taken a break from his routine. On Friday afternoon, Thackeray left the city for a three-day break at Mahabaleshwar where he will attend Shiv Sena MLA Bhaskar Jadhav's son's wedding on Saturday. He will return on Sunday.

According to a senior Shiv Sena functionary, no official meetings have been scheduled during the three-day stay. On Saturday, Thackeray will attend Sena MLA Bhaskar Jadhav's son's wedding reception.

Thackeray took oath as CM on November 28. After the Assembly election results in October, the Sena and BJP, which contested the election in alliance, witnessed a split over the sharing of the chief minister's post. The over a month-long political crisis in the state was put to an end after leaders from the Congress, NCP and Sena formed the tri-party government with Thackeray senior at the helm of affairs as the chief minister.

Months before the polls, Thackeray was involved in pre-poll preparations, right from selecting candidates to campaigning for them. Later he was occupied with the formation of the government and the winter session at Nagpur. Hence, many in the political fraternity see this visit as a break from the hectic routine.

Sena leaders, too, were quick to defend their leader and claim that there was no leisure involved. "We agree that the past couple of months have been hectic. But the visit to Mahabaleshwar is not a leisure trip or a break. A Sena MLA's son is getting married there. Saheb has come to attend that," a Sena leader close to the Thackeray clan said.

Meanwhile, before proceeding to Mahabaleshwar, Thackeray, along with principal secretaries at the CMO, Bhushan Gagrani and Vikas Kharage, visited the MMRDA office to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Pune Metro. Besides the CM and his officials, cabinet minister Eknath Shinde and MMRDA commissioner R A Rajeev too were present for the grand event held at the MMRDA headquarters in Bandra Kurla Complex.

The MoU was signed between the state government and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB will be investing 600 million euro (approximately R4,800 crore). The MoU was for the provision of the first instalment of financial assistance worth R1,600 crore. "The Pune Metro will help to ease traffic woes in Pune city," said a release issued by the CM's office.

The total cost of the 31.25-km metro project is pegged at around R11,420 crore. Half of the cost is going to be raised through loans and the remaining will be funded by the central, state and local governments.

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