After Babasaheb Bhosale was removed, Vasantdada Patil took over as chief minister for a third term in 1983. Himself a general secretary of the AICC, Patil had returned to Maharashtra with an assurance from Indiraji that he would be free to choose his team. While Darda's inclusion in the cabinet was a foregone conclusion, none expected Sushilkumar Shinde to be made a minister as he had spearheaded the 1978 rebellion against Patil and dislodged the coalition. Sushilkumar Shinde's friendship with Pawar again appeared to be the stumbling block.

 

Sushilkumar Shinde returned to his Bandra residence after Patil's name was finalised, presuming that his ministerial ambition would have to wait for some more time.

 

Though he tried to hide his disappointment, his meeting with Rajiv kept coming back to his mind. But he decided not to beg for a ministerial berth. Once this decision was made, he was at peace with himself.

 

To his amazement, Patil sent a message calling Sushilkumar Shinde to his residence the next day. It was around 9 am. Preoccupied with setting up a government, Patil took Sushilkumar Shinde aside and gave him the good news.

 

"You are going to be in my ministry," Patil said in his terse manner. Another senior Congress leader, Ramrao Adik, was present. Both were finalising the ministry. Sushilkumar Shinde was speechless.

 

Sensing his sentiments, Patil said, "You were never against Indiraji but you did whatever you did for your friend Sharad (Pawar). Forget the past. You must join."

 

He did not know how to thank the erstwhile freedom fighter and uncrowned king of Maharashtra's powerful cooperation movement. The swearing-in was to take place at 11 am. Patil had little time but he pointedly asked Shinde what portfolio he wished to handle. Sushilkumar Shinde was yet to recover from the first shock when he was subjected to a second one. It was really rare that the chief minister would ask any would-be minister for his choice.

Patil asked the young minister-designate for his preference. Sushilkumar Shinde, in a typical political fashion, said he would accept any responsibility entrusted to him. "Except the Social Welfare Department," was his sole condition. In Maharashtra, it has been conventional to entrust this department to a Dalit minister. Sushilkumar Shinde was struggling to break that shell and emerge as a leader in his own right.

 

Patil left it at that but called Sushilkumar Shinde again some hours later. He gave Shinde the third shock of that day. "You will be my finance minister," he said. The Chief Minister added planning portfolio to Sushilkumar Shinde 's responsibility, making him the first minister to hold both charges. It has since become customary in Maharashtra to entrust both portfolios to the same minister. As planning minister, Sushilkumar Shinde made several valuable contributions to the process of budget making. It was during his tenure and the first exercise to compute developmental backlog was undertaken by the government.

 

Sushilkumar Shinde was stunned to hear this command. With little background or training in financial matters, Sushilkumar Shinde was nervous as he felt he would not be able to do justice to the job. He spoke out his anxiety. To escape the responsibility, he suggested a couple of other names as probable finance ministers. But Patil was firm.

 

"Do you want me to finish Maharashtra by appointing these men to such a sensitive post? Nothing doing. There is nothing you can't handle," he reassured Shinde. The finance department had earlier been with Adik and it was presumed that he would continue with it. However, Adik wanted a change and had wished to handle another portfolio. He also pitched in and the die was cast.

 

It later occurred to Sushilkumar Shinde that Rajiv Gandhi must have been instrumental in his re-entry into the cabinet. Nonetheless, Sushilkumar Shinde was overwhelmed by Patil’s magnanimous decision. He knew that if Patil had refused, the high command would not have pressed him to include Shinde. The confidence Patil reposed in him was subsequently justified by Sushilkumar Shinde, who became famous as 'the finance minister who presented the highest number of budgets in India.' He presented a record nine Maharashtra budgets in a row. The finance portfolio made him a senior minister automatically. He was just over 40 at the time. The tenure gave him an insight into the complexity of the government. MPs and legislators belonging to all parties and from all corners of Maharashtra would approach him for funding for different purposes. The priorities of the state, the various departments and regions became known to Sushilkumar Shinde. He remains forever grateful to Vasantdada for the opportunity. "Dada's decision made me famous all over India. I was able to come into contact with the Centre and leaders from other states as a finance minister. The robust common sense exhibited by Dada was a guiding force for all of us," Sushilkumar Shinde says. Dada was used to a frugal lifestyle and ran the state economy in the same manner. A freedom fighter, Dada had a soft corner for the poor. Sushilkumar Shinde and Dada seldom disagreed on any social provision in the budget. They had almost an identical viewpoint towards the underprivileged. Sushilkumar Shinde's first-ever budget was highlighted by the absence of any new taxation. Also, he created a trend by interspersing his budget speech with appropriate couplets from Marathi poetry. This has now become a practice for all finance ministers.

 

The issue of regional development has become quite sensitive over the years. Western Maharashtra region which comprises districts like Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and, of course, Mumbai, is considered most developed whereas Marathwada and Vidarbha are regarded as underdeveloped regions. Off and on, there was the talk of Vidarbha becoming a separate state. To avert any such possibility, Dada and Shinde decided to measure the backlog of development in the state by taking into account regional circumstances. Noted economist V.V Dandekar was appointed to head an expert committee to take on the task. The committee submitted its report in due course. Its findings became a benchmark. Subsequently, three regional statutory development board were set up under the Constitution. The experience made Shinde aware of enormous task a finance minister of Maharashtra had to shoulder.