ALL FOR A SAFE HOUSE

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has not only taken Uddhav Thackeray’s chair but also lessons from the Shiv Sena chief’s experience. Shinde has reportedly told confidants that he won’t be moving into ‘Varsha’, the official chief ministerial residence in tony Malabar Hill. He will, instead, stay on in his present government accommodation, ‘Nandanvan’. Shinde had used his own resources to make the house vastucompliant after it was allotted to him in 2014 in his capacity as leader of the opposition. Interestingly, no incumbent barring Devendra Fadnavis has completed a term in office while living in ‘Varsha’. The CM’s aversion, though, is restricted to living in ‘Varsha’, not to holding official meetings there.