From warning that he would “topple his cart” to speaking of “wiping out his existence”, no leader in Maharashtra has targeted Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with as much venom as BJP MLA Ganesh Naik. While much of Naik’s rhetoric can be seen as political posturing in the ongoing power struggle between alliance partners BJP and the Shiv Sena, the hostility also has a deeply personal edge. It pits a leader who was once spoken of as a potential Chief Minister against a former junior party colleague who rose, through rebellion and realignment, to occupy the state’s top post.
Born in Bonkode, then a small village in what is now Navi Mumbai into the Agri community, Ganesh Naik rose alongside the region’s rapid urbanisation driven by the Trans Thane Creek TTC MIDC industrial belt. He was among the first local organisers to take up labour grievances and civic issues as the area transformed from farmland into an industrial and residential hub.
Naik entered public life early. As a teenager, he worked with Mathadi head loader unions and industrial labour groups across the TTC corridor. These labour networks became the foundation of his political base and coincided with the Shiv Sena’s expansion into Navi Mumbai in the late 1970s. It was during this period that Naik is believed to have forged ties with one of India’s most prominent industrialists, a relationship that has endured for decades. He subsequently joined the Shiv Sena, becoming its principal face in Vashi, Nerul, Airoli, Turbhe and Ghansoli.
Rise in the Shiv Sena and break with the party
By the late 1980s, Ganesh Naik had firmly established himself in Navi Mumbai, but his rise within the Shiv Sena was marked by conflict. At the time, Navi Mumbai fell under Thane district, where Anand Dighe dominated the party organisation. Initially, the two leaders operated in distinct spheres, but as both Thane and Navi Mumbai expanded, their political boundaries began to overlap, leading to growing friction. Bal Thackeray eventually stepped in and informally demarcated Navi Mumbai as Naik’s area of influence.
Naik’s growing stature translated into electoral success in 1990, when he won the Belapur Assembly seat. After the Shiv Sena BJP government came to power in 1995, he was inducted into the Cabinet under Chief Minister Manohar Joshi. Around the same time, his name was also mentioned as a possible contender for the Chief Minister’s post. Naik has claimed in public speeches that several leading industrialists favoured him for the role and had conveyed this to Thackeray, though he has also said he was not interested in the position then.
Story continues below this ad
As a minister, however, Naik’s confrontational style soon brought him into conflict with both Joshi and the Sena leadership. He repeatedly disagreed with the Chief Minister on departmental matters and publicly criticised him, an unusual step in a party known for strict internal discipline. When Naik refused to resign, Joshi dropped him from the Cabinet with Thackeray’s approval.
The rift spilled into local politics as well. Naik’s defiance and his influence over civic institutions contributed to the Shiv Sena losing control of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation in the late 1990s. At a time when the party was at the peak of its power, such open rebellion was rare.
The final rupture came in 1999, when Naik joined Sharad Pawar’s newly formed Nationalist Congress Party. In the Assembly elections that year, he was defeated by the Shiv Sena, whose Thane unit was led by Anand Dighe, under whom Eknath Shinde was then emerging as a key organiser.
Political journey after leaving the Shiv Sena
After his defeat in 1999, Ganesh Naik kept a low profile for several years before staging a comeback in 2004 on a Nationalist Congress Party ticket. He returned to government as Excise Minister and went on to hold several key portfolios over the next decade, reinforcing his influence over Navi Mumbai’s civic administration and industrial network.
Story continues below this ad
In 2014, Naik suffered a setback when he was defeated by BJP’s Manda Mhatre, a former associate who had levelled corruption allegations against him. The loss, coupled with the BJP’s rising dominance in Maharashtra, gradually drew Naik closer to the party. He formally joined the BJP in 2019 and won the Airoli Assembly seat the same year.
However, his long standing rivalry with Eknath Shinde, dating back to the Anand Dighe era, meant that Naik was not inducted into the Cabinet after the Shiv Sena was split after the 2019 elections. It was only after Devendra Fadnavis returned as Chief Minister in 2024 that Naik was brought into the ministry as Maharashtra’s Forest Minister.
Since then, Naik has been deployed by the BJP as a key political operator in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, particularly in Thane, where Shinde’s organisational base remains strongest.
What explains the tussle between Shinde and Naik
To a large extent, Ganesh Naik’s sustained attacks on Eknath Shinde are seen as serving the BJP’s tactical interest in keeping pressure on its ally and denying the Deputy Chief Minister political breathing space. Naik’s role in this equation stems from his stature in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the fact that, unlike many regional leaders, he is neither dependent on Shinde nor politically overawed by him. With considerable financial resources and long standing corporate links, Naik has little hesitation in taking on Shinde, whom he believes has attempted to expand into his political stronghold of Navi Mumbai.
Story continues below this ad
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Naik emerged as the Shiv Sena’s undisputed face in Navi Mumbai and later as guardian minister of Thane district. After Dighe’s death in 2001, Shinde inherited the Thane organisation and gradually extended his influence. Shinde’s rebellion and elevation as Chief Minister transformed him from a regional leader into a statewide authority with control over government machinery, party organisation and political patronage.
Historically, Naik had never operated under a Thane based leader. As Shinde sought to further consolidate his bases, Naik viewed it as a renewed attempt by Thane to intrude into his political backyard.
The BJP’s sweep in the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, where it won 65 of the 111 seats under Naik’s leadership, has further strengthened his position. Shinde’s faction, by contrast, has emerged as the junior partner in most urban local bodies, even as it seeks to increase its leverage within the alliance.
The BJP meanwhile seems to have given Naik a free run for now as he continues to snipe at Shinde.
