Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 23: The three-party “Maha Vikas Aghadi” (MVA) opposition alliance is on the verge of collapse with Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of Shiv Sena is going ahead full steam with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the civic elections in Mumbai, and the Congress threatening to sever its ties with the Shiv Sena (UBT) if the MNS remained on-board.
A formal announcement of reunion of the two parties of the Thackeray brothers was expected on Wednesday but the senior Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut has made it clear that there would be no further talks with the Congress, the naysayer to this alliance, at least for the coming prestigious Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, a situation that the Congress confirmed, with a hint at their contingency plan.
“There will be no further discussion with the Congress,” Sanjay Raut told reporters less than 24 hours after his telephonic conversation with Rahul Gandhi. “We will see to it that there should not be any enmity with the Congress during the election. Post-election, if required, we will take the support of Congress. But I am sure that both brothers will 100 per cent cross 100 seats in BMC,” he added.
The Congress made it clear that it is sticking to its stand on Raj Thackeray and is even ready to discontinue its alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of Shiv Sena. “It is wrong to say that Raj Thackeray is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi… In the BMC elections, the ideologies of all our parties have now diverged, and we will move forward while maintaining these differences… Because Raj Thackeray has now joined hands with Uddhav Thackeray, we will not continue our alliance with them,” said Congress’s Sachin Sawant.
“We have always distanced ourselves from those who create controversies based on language and religion, and we will continue to maintain this distance,” he added. He also made it clear that they have other options. “The NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) approached us today and proposed that we contest the elections together. It will take a few days for the situation to become clear regarding which parties we will form alliance with,” he said.
Earlier, attempts have been made to have the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi contest the civic election as a block, but the Congress has balked at the prospect of adding Raj Thackeray to the mix. Despite Shiv Sena (UBT)’s insistence on a collective fight against the BJP, the Mumbai Congress had announced that they will go solo.
Uddhav Thackeray – hemmed in by the BJP and Eknath Shinde after the split in his party two years ago – has done what few dreamt of reuniting with the brother estranged since 2005. Raj Thackeray’s MNS is expected to bring in votes from right-wing supporters, which the Sena had lost after allying with the Congress. The Congress was expected to be the counterweight, retaining the Muslim vote. But the Congress had retained its opposition to MNS on ideological grounds.
In the ruling “Mahayuti” camp, the tussle over seat sharing for the BMC election continued with the BJP coming up with a fresh formula that gives Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena more seats than its initial offer but is nowhere close to the party’s wishlist. In the initial meeting of the coalition, the Shinde Sena had demanded 125 seats. The BJP’s counteroffer was 52. Now, after a meeting on Monday night, the BJP’s fresh offer is approaching 90, sources said. But Shinde, who has scaled down his demand to 112, is not happy and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will hold another round of discussion with him to resolve the issue, sources said.
The BJP is not likely to back down further, especially after their stellar performance in the statewide local polls. The party has emerged as the single largest, bagging 117 posts of municipal presidents. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena won 53, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP won 37. The current calculations, though, will have to be scrapped and the parties will be back to the drawing board if Ajit Pawar finally decides to contest as part of the alliance.
Confirming that nothing has yet been decided, senior NCP leader Sunil Tatkare said, “Tomorrow Ajit Dada and Praful Patel are in Mumbai. A decision regarding the same will be taken tomorrow.” “We have discussed the matter with the Chief Minister. At some places we are trying to get an alliance… I also spoke to Aashish Shelar,” he added.
The hurdle here is over the question over party veteran Nawab Malik, who is facing a clutch of corruption cases, including one of money laundering linked to the activities of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his gang. While the Mahayuti has made it clear that they would not like having Malik under their banner, Ajit Pawar is said to be firm on backing the leader.
“If Nawab Malik is their (NCP) leader, then we won’t be with them. He has serious allegations against him, and we won’t ally with them,” Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam has said. If the NCP is to join the alliance in Mumbai, they must present a new face other than Nawab Malik and settle for only 10 to 14 seats, sources in the BJP have said.
The countdown to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections has already started, with less than a month left before voting. The date announced was January 15 and the counting will take place the next day. A total of 2,869 municipal seats will be up for grabs, including 227 BMC seats.