Two separate appointment letters were issued by the Maharashtra government on August 5, reflecting a power tussle between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the appointment of the General Manager of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). Each letter named a different officer for the same position, highlighting the ongoing administrative discord.
When Fadnavis was asked the reason for the confusion, he said, “I don’t make decisions about BEST, it is done by the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation)”.
The Urban Development Department later clarified that no official order had been issued regarding Ashwini Joshi’s appointment. Following the retirement of former General Manager SVR Srinivas on July 31, the department stated it was “necessary to assign additional charge for the post until a regular appointment is made by the General Administration Department,” especially in light of a planned protest by the BEST Workers’ Union.
“To manage the situation concerning the workers’ protest, the Urban Development Department was in the process of issuing orders to assign the additional charge of General Manager, BEST, to Ashwini Joshi (IAS). However, in the meantime, the General Administration Department, through its order dated August 5, 2025, assigned the additional charge to Ashish Sharma (IAS),” the department said.
These developments come as Eknath Shinde makes his second visit to Delhi within a week, sparking speculation that growing tensions within the ruling alliance, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis’ increasing influence over ministers and actions against Shinde loyalists, may be driving the trip.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray criticised the Mahayuti government over the conflicting appointments, claiming that the coordination between the Chief Minister and his deputy “is already dead.”
“So the BEST is being killed by the state government on purpose, but what is worse is the coordination between CM and Gaddaarnath Mindhe is already dead. CM’s GAD (The official dept for posts and transfers) has issued orders to one name as administrator, while the Gaddaarnath’s UD department has issued orders to another name. Shouldn’t the DCM have first discussed this with the CM? Shouldn’t the GAD be issuing these orders? Why should our State suffer in this ego war? Imagine, if this basic coordination is SO dead, these are the people who are supposed to be leading our State! The most corrupt and incompetent government that Maharashtra has seen,” he posted on X.
So the BEST is being killed by the state government on purpose, but what is worse is the coordination between CM and Gaddaarnath Mindhe is already dead.
CM’s GAD (The official dept for posts and transfers) has issued orders to one name as administrator, while the Gaddaarnath’s…
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) August 6, 2025
The appointment will remain in effect until the state government finalizes a regular appointment for the position.
After the retirement of the current BEST General Manager, SVR Srinivas, the Mahayuti government moved to appoint a successor. However, in an unusual turn of events, the government appointed two different individuals to the same vacant post on the very same day. Sharma, who currently serves as the GST Commissioner, and Joshi, an additional commissioner at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), were both named for the position. Meanwhile, BEST, the agency responsible for running Mumbai’s public bus services, has been operating without a full-time general manager since the start of the year.
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This latest development has provided fodder for the state opposition to criticize the Mahayuti government. NCP MLA Rohit Pawar took to social media to mock the administration, sarcastically dubbing the situation as the “Best Coordination” of the Mahayuti government. His comments underscore the growing political tensions surrounding the management of BEST and raise questions about the government’s handling of the appointment process.