Mumbai, Feb 28 (PTI) The Budget Session of the Maharashtra legislature starting from Monday is expected to be a heated one amid reports of a rift between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde and the opposition trying to corner the government over embattled ministers Dhananjay Munde and Manikrao Kokate.

The session, during which the Budget for 2025-26 will be presented on March 10, will take place as the Fadnavis dispensation completes 100 days in power.

It will the first full fledged session for the government as the winter session in Nagpur was held without ministers being sworn in.

Fadnavis recently initiated a probe into a Rs 900 crore housing project in Jalna that was approved, after being scrapped initially as financially unviable, when Shinde was CM. The government has also cancelled a Rs 1400 crore solid waste collection tender approved when Shinde headed the government.

Shinde's "don't take me lightly" remark coupled with a reference to his toppling the MVA government along with a rider that it was a warning for those who ought to understand has also raised the heat.

After Fadnavis said he had not cleared names of 16 out of 125 persons for PS and OSD appointments due to them having image of "fixers", Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut tried to highlight the rift by claiming those blocked were linked to Shinde's ministers.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, despite a severe drubbing in the November assembly polls, is expected to slam the government over Munde and Kokate.

While Munde is under fire after his close aide Walmik Karad was arrested in an extortion case linked to the December 9 murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, Kokate's ministership is in question after a Nashik court sentenced him to two years in jail for cheating and forgery to obtain houses under a government scheme.

The MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and Congress, has said Fadnavis' entire cabinet is corrupt and not just Munde and Kokate.

The MVA will attack the government on Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's refusal to get his party colleague Munde to resign.

However, Fadnavis is in a commanding position as the Mahayuti has 230 seats in the 288-member assembly, with the BJP alone winning 132 seats in the November state polls. However, he has a task at hand to keep Shinde and Pawar in check, observers said.

Shinde has often skipped meetings and events presided over by the CM and has also held parallel meetings at the same time. In fact, all three key leaders of the Mahayuti have their own project implementation units.

The opposition is also expected to put the government on the mat on the Pune bus rape case as well as French firm Systra accusing state-run MMRDA to harassment, the allegations coming amid the government's claims on enhanced ease of doing business. PTI MR BNM

Criminal allegations against ministers prompt legislative scrutiny as budget session readies sustained opposition attacks and governance questions. Allegations of criminality and administrative impropriety will dominate the budget session, with a government probe into a housing project and cancellation of a major tender feeding opposition scrutiny. Two ministers face legal vulnerabilities: an aide's arrest in an extortion investigation linked to a murder inquiry, and a minister's two-year jail sentence for cheating and forgery in obtaining houses under a government scheme. The opposition will target cabinet integrity, a refusal to seek resignations, and raise additional governance complaints during the session.