Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 28: Even as the leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena on Thursday denied any immediate move to break the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the party has blamed the Congress for the alliance’s dismal show in the Maharashtra state Assembly elections causing heart burning among all the partners.
Just a week after the conclusion of the Assembly elections, a senior leader of the Sena (UBT) said the “overconfidence” of the Congress and its “attitude” during seat-sharing talks hurt the MVA’s prospects. The BJP-led Mahayuti scored a thumping victory in the election, winning 230 seats in the 288-member Assembly.
Mr Ambadas Danve, Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council said the results would have been different if the MVA projected Uddhav Thackeray as its Chief Minister face. “After the Lok Sabha election results, the Congress was overconfident in Maharashtra like in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. This was reflected in the results. Its attitude during seat-sharing negotiations hurt us. Uddhav ji should have been projected as the Chief Minister face. Not doing so harmed our prospects. The results would have been different if this was done,” Mr Danve told the media.
In a subtle dig at the Congress, he said, “They were getting ready with suit and tie even before the results.” The Congress had won 13 seats in the Lok Sabha election months ago, the highest among Maha Vikas Aghadi allies. Buoyed by the stellar show, the Nana Patole-led state Congress unit bargained hard during the seat-sharing talks ahead of the state polls, leading to friction in the alliance. Eventually, it contested 103 seats but won only 16. The best performance among the three parties came from the Sena (UBT), which contested 89 seats and won 20. The third ally, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, contested 87 seats and won 10.
Mr Danve said some of the candidates of Sena (UBT) had pointed to the organisational aspect, but did not name any party. He said Sena (UBT) would prepare to build its strength to the point where it can contest all 288 seats in the state.
He was equally bitter over the BJP’s behaviour with its alliance partners. On his former party colleague and former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion split the Shiv Sena, Mr Danve said the BJP has “many Shindes.” “The BJP has many Shindes in several states. The BJP uses and throws them away,” he said.
The Sena (UBT), however, has outrightly denied the reports of any internal rumbling among the MVA allies stating that they were not breaking away from the tie-up that it became a part of in 2019.
This comes after media reports claimed that Uddhav is under pressure from his leaders to leave the alliance after its poor show in the Assembly Elections.
The Uddhav Sena dismissed reports of plans to split from the MVA stating that there was “no truth” in it. “The comments coming in from various quarters do not reflect the position of the party’s top brass. All the reports currently are speculative,” the party said.
Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut responded to media queries if UBT will go solo in the BMC polls or will remain a part of the MVA. “Why are you guys worried? Just now the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections’ results have come…we will see, we know what to do. MVA leaders are capable of making decisions regarding the BMC polls,” he said.
The remarks come amid talks within the Mahayuti alliance on who will be the next Chief Minister. The BJP has scored the highest among NDA allies and is learned to have pushed for the Chief Minister post. The party is all set to dump Shinde’s Sena and the former chief minister after days of posturing by some Sena leaders was on Wednesday forced to step back and said he would accept Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision on the Chief Minister post.
The BJP is also likely to keep more than half of the ministerial berth for itself giving 12 to Shinde’s Sena including three big-ticket portfolios, and nine to Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party. Maharashtra can have a maximum of 43 ministers including the Chief Minister. Mr Shinde, who has grudgingly accepted the BJP’s decision to name the Chief Minister from its ranks, is likely to get three key ministries — Urban Development, Public Works Department and Water Resources.
After days of political posturing by Sena leaders, Mr Shinde on Wednesday had announced that his party would support the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the next Maharashtra Chief Minister. He said he would not be an “obstacle.” The grandstanding apart, Mr Shinde does not have much leverage to push for the top post. The BJP has won 132 seats and the NCP has reportedly thrown its weight behind the big brother. This means it does not need Mr Shinde’s support to reach the majority mark in the 288-seat Assembly.
As it becomes clear that the BJP will claim the Chief Minister post, Shiv Sena (UBT) has taken digs at Mr Shinde, whose rebellion split the Sena and toppled the Uddhav Thackeray government. Party leader Ambadas Danve said the BJP takes decisions independently and Mr Shinde cannot pressure it. Earlier, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Mr Shinde has served his purpose in the Mahayuti and the BJP won’t give him the Chief Minister post.
While the BJP is yet to announce its Chief Minister choice, Devendra Fadnavis, the tallest party leader in the state and a former Chief Minister, is the frontrunner. The Nagpur South-West MLA is considered one of the key architects of the Mahayuti victory in this election. When the rebellion led by Mr Shinde brought down the Uddhav Thackeray government, Mr Fadnavis had agreed, though reluctantly, to be Number 2 even though the BJP was the bigger partner in the alliance. Against this backdrop, BJP workers want him as a Chief Minister this time for leading the BJP to its best show in Maharashtra. NCP, too, has reportedly endorsed Mr Fadnavis as a Chief Minister.
The BJP, meanwhile, is also looking to balance caste equations. Home Minister Amit Shah met senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde to understand if the replacement of Mr Shinde with Mr Fadnavis will rile up the Maratha community. While Mr Shinde is a Maratha, Mr Fadnavis is a Brahmin. Earlier, during the community’s agitation for reservation, Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil had called Mr Fadnavis a “Maratha-hater”. The BJP, it appears, wants to iron out all doubts before making a formal announcement.