Mumbai: A scramble has broken out in the Mahayuti over allotment of bungalows to newly elected Legislative Council deputy chairperson Sachin Ahir. Ahir, who recently joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, was allotted the Raigad (A-6) bungalow opposite Mantralaya, but the order was cancelled, and Ahir was instead allotted a flat in Suniti Building because Raigad is still being used by former minister Ravindra Chavan, who is now the state BJP president. While Chavan was PWD minister in the previous Mahayuti govt, he has not been a minister in the current govt since 2024. After getting elected, Ahir was eyeing the Purandar (C-3) bungalow, which was occupied by his predecessor Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe, but before Ahir could take over, deputy speaker Anna Bansode of the NCP staked claim over Purandar and got it allotted for himself. With no bungalows left, the state General Administration Department (GAD) allotted Ahir a flat. Ahir has so far not moved into the flat and is likely to take up the issue with DCM Shinde.“The state govt has decided to allot the official residence Suniti-9, Churchgate to Sachin Ahir, deputy chairperson, Maharashtra Legislative Council. Therefore, the allotment of official residence A-6 (Raigad) on Madam Cama Marg allotted to him is now being cancelled,” a Govt Resolution (GR) issued last week stated.“The state has decided to allot Bungalow C-3 (Purandar) to Anna Bansode, deputy speaker, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Therefore, the allotment of residence Suniti-9 at Churchgate made to him is now being cancelled,” another GR read.Officials said Chavan was still occupying the Raigad bungalow and uses it to hold key meetings. He was first allotted the bungalow in Aug 2022 when he became a Minister in the previous MahaYuti govt.“After Sachin Ahir was elected deputy chairperson, he was allotted the Raigad bungalow, but Ravindra Chavan was already occupying it. We were told that Chavan hasn’t left the bungalow even after he was excluded from the cabinet and made state BJP president. By the time Ahir was elected deputy chairperson of the Legislative Council, deputy speaker of the Assembly Anna Bansode had already got the Purandar bungalow allotted for himself. Ideally, since it was occupied by the previous deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe, it should have been allotted to Sachin Ahir,” a Sena functionary said.Chavan did not respond to calls and text messages from TOI. GAD secretary Pankaj Kumar, too, did not respond to TOI’s queries.The deputy chairperson traditionally holds a rank equivalent to a minister of state. However, the specific rank can be elevated. For example, former deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe was elevated to the higher rank of cabinet minister
