Widening cracks in the three—party opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are likely to be growing despite the prospect of elections being held to local bodies across Maharashtra.
The latest provocation has been NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s fulsome praise of Maharashtra DCM Eknath Shinde, the architect of the most grievous split in the unified Shiv Sena in 2022. The Sena (UBT) has criticized Pawar for this stance and in turn has attracted the ire of both its allies, the Congress and the NCP led by Pawar.
As far as the Congress is concerned, it is trying to bring back its house in order but the signals are not so very promising. The AICC has appointed Vidarbha’s Maratha leader Harshwardhan Sapkal as MPCC president after Nana Patole had resigned in the wake of the assembly election debacle. Sapkal’s appointment has been frowned at by senior party Vijay Wadettiwar, who was hopeful of occupying the post. A staunch OBC proponent, Wadettiwar was earlier in hot water for publicly praising chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Pawar’s acceptance to felicitate Eknath Shinde with the ‘Mahadji Shinde Rashtra Gaurav Puraskar’ at the 98th All India Marathi Literary Conference is the latest bone of contention for MVA. Pawar congratulated Shinde for his tenure as chief minister. Shinde took inclusive approach to governance and development, Pawar said. Since Shinde had been followed by most Sena MLAs to form a government with the BJP, Uddhav Thackeray was livid as his most hated enemy was so felicitated by Pawar, till now called the creator of MVA by him.
Pawar has been known to shower praise on his opponents at the other end of the political spectrum out of the blue. His laudatory reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the BJP’s victory in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election is still rankling for many, especially for Uddhav. MVA had suffered in the assembly polls.
Returning the kudos, Shinde described Pawar as a guru in establishing and maintaining relationships beyond political concerns. One should learn from Pawar, Shinde said in the function held in Delhi.
Like Pawar sends across confusing signals, Shinde used his speech to salute Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah for Maharashtra’s development over the last couple of years. He also gratefully remembered Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and his own Thane mentor Anand Dighe. In short, Shinde exploited the opportunity to throw barbs at Uddhav.
Expectedly, Sharad Pawar’s this move has left his political supporters and detractors guessing about the future of MVA. The surprising factor which kicked off the episode was the outburst of Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut who openly criticised this move. Supposedly a confidant of Pawar, he said that felicitating Eknath Shinde was like honouring Amit Shah as Shinde had split the Shiv Sena with Shah’s active support.
Stung by this statement, Pawar’s party leaders said it was a liberal gesture and not political. Pawar’s party MP Amol Kolhe said politics should not be seen into everything. There was nothing objectionable in Pawar’s presence.
However, Thackeray is not ready to relent. He said Pawar should have avoided attending the event, endorsing Raut’s stand. Still, Aditya Thackeray’s sudden airdash to Delhi and his decision to call on Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kerjiwal only heightened the speculation that half a dozen Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members are likely to switch over to Shinde’s faction.
Raut has also angered the literary circles in Maharashtra by alleging that such awards are bought and sold. He felt the event was a gathering of power brokers, engineered by the BJP and the RSS. Soon, he was attacked by the Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal, the organizing body of the conference.
Significantly, the Congress party in Maharashtra has maintained studied silence over the sensitive political slugfest. But Rahul’s decision to appoint Sapkal to head the body in the state is bound to have repercussions. Firstly, Sapkal hails from Vidarbha, like the previous incumbent Nana Patole. Secondly, he belongs to the Maratha caste, which is still powerful in state polity. The reservation expressed by Wadettiwar is rather vocal. Although he is asked to continue as leader of the Congress party in the legislature, his unhappiness was evident when he said that he could have performed well as the state party president.
The Congress in Maharashtra is in a sort of limbo since its debacle in the assembly election in November last. The BJP-led Mahayuti had secured a landslide victory, winning 230 of the total 288 seats, in alliance with the Sena under Shinde and the NCP headed by Ajit Pawar won 57 and 41, respectively. MVA could manage to secure just 46 seats, with the Sena (UBT) getting 20, the Congress 16 and the NCP (SP) 10. Ever since, the opposition is sort of inactive despite many momentous developments in the state.
The Congress party’s zero performance in the Delhi assembly election for a successive third time has spread a pall of gloom for its workers. Top leaders like Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat have gone into political retirement and have refused to head the state unit. Younger leaders like Vishwajit Kadam and Satej Patil, too, have declined the offer. On top of that, a non-descript worker like Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed to steer it. Sapkal’s only known qualification to be elevated to the post is his close contacts with Meenakshi Natarajan, an inner circle member around Rahul. His first test will be the coming local body elections.
The NCP led by Sharad Pawar does not have much space in the state politics although it performed well in the last Lok Sabha election. The state NCP president Jayant Patil has been holding the reigns for the past decade and has been retained despite vociferous demands from the rank and file for his replacement.
The Sena led by Uddhav has been losing its leading lights with frightening regularity. Still, Uddhav is not seen ready to change his style of functioning. Continuous reports about his MPs deserting the party have created grave apprehensions within the organization.
In short, the opposition in Maharashtra is in a disarray and will have to mend its house soon to mount an effective challenge to the ruling dispensation. Not surprisingly, the ruling BJP is actively fuelilng all such possibilities by instigating discontent in MVA.
A Column By
Dilip Chaware – Senior Editor
A media professional for 43 years, with extensive experience of writing on
a variety of subjects; he is also a documentary producer and book author.
