NAVI MUMBAI: A routine event marking the expansion of civic healthcare facilities in Navi Mumbai descended into a bitter display of infighting within the ruling Mahayuti alliance on Monday. Shiv Sena workers waved black flags and shouted slogans hailing deputy chief minister and party chief Eknath Shinde, to protest the omission of his name from the event’s invitation. Separately, the BJP’s Belapur MLA Manda Mhatre walked out of the inauguration, accusing Airoli MLA and senior BJP leader Ganesh Naik of claiming credit for projects in her constituency.Navi Mumbai, India - June 15, 2026:Ganesh Naik faces Mahayuti heat as Sena protest, Mhatre boycott rock NMMC event at Vashi in Navi Mumbai, India, on Monday, June 15, 2026. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)The controversy comes shortly after Shinde’s name was omitted from the invitation for the unveiling of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at the Navi Mumbai International Airport.Protesting Sena workers at Monday event pointed out that Shinde is state urban development minister, under whose jurisdiction the NMMC functions, and the guardian minister of Thane, which includes Navi Mumbai. They claimed he had been deliberately excluded from Monday’s event despite facilitating several of the projects inaugurated at the Vashi civic hospital.Inside the hospital, Mhatre objected to Naik inaugurating projects in her constituency and Shinde’s omission from the invitation. She said the invitation issued by the mayor’s office falsely credited Naik by claiming the projects were funded through his ministerial allocations.“Enough is enough,” a furious Mhatre told the media, calling Naik’s conduct “arrogance” and “high-handedness”.The Sena protest later shifted to the NMMC headquarters in Belapur, where opposition leader Vijay Chougule led corporators and party workers to the municipal commissioner’s office.The BJP holds the post of mayor in Navi Mumbai, a stronghold of Naik, who is an old political rival of Shinde. While Naik and his family hold sway over Navi Mumbai, Shinde calls the shots in Thane district. Also, Shinde is the guardian minister of Thane district, which includes Navi Mumbai, while the BJP’s brief for Naik is to contain the growth of the Sena in Thane.On Monday’s ruckus, mayor Sujata Patil (BJP) denied any breach of protocol. She said, “Government programmes and local self-government institutions follow different protocols. The municipal corporation is a local self-governing body, and the invitation includes the local minister, MLAs, MPs, public representatives and committee chairpersons as required under the GR. There has been no violation of protocol.” She maintained that protocol for local self-government institutions did not require the guardian minister’s name to be printed on the invitation.On Mhatre’s allegations, Patil said only the dialysis centre had been built through Naik’s MLA fund, while the remaining facilities were developed by the NMMC, adding that Mhatre may have misunderstood the invitation.Distancing himself from the controversy, Naik said, “Ask those who prepared the invitation. I have never asked anyone to insult anyone, abuse anyone, slap anyone or indulge in conspiracies. Those are not our ways.”But the Sena is in no mood to relent. Shinde aide and state social welfare minister Sanjay Shirsat said the party had registered its protest at the last cabinet meeting, when Shinde was excluded from the Navi Mumbai airport event. He said the party would raise the issue again at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.Thane MP Naresh Mhaske (Sena) remarked, “In Navi Mumbai, they (Naik) want to frame rules as they please. But one has to prove their mettle through their work. No one can erase Shinde saheb’s name.”