The Shiv Sena’s sniping makes little difference

Given its hardline ideology, the party can’t ally with any other outfit but the BJP

Three years into his tenure in 2017, the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party warned his party’s prickly ally Shiv Sena to quit trying to don the mantle of the Opposition. The Shiv Sena has not taken this counsel seriously and has been sniping at the BJP relentlessly, the latest being a jibe from Uddhav Thackeray, riffing off Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s comment on the chowkidar (watchman) being a thief, itself a reference to Prime Minister Modi’s comment in the run-up to the 2014 election that he was a chowkidar and would countenance no corruption.

Thackeray has also been champing at the bit on the issue of the construction of the Ram mandir in Ayodhya, accusing the BJP of failing Hindus. The Sena has sensed the current anti-bjp sentiment in many parts of India and is seeking to cash in on that. But angry words apart, Mr Thackeray knows that he has no choice but to stay with the BJP. His party no longer has the traction it once did when his father Balasaheb Thackeray ran the show. He cannot go it alone in Maharashtra; in the last assembly election his party won 63 seats to the BJP’S 122. If elections were held again, it would probably win fewer. Given its extreme Hindutva ideology, the Sena cannot ally with any other party but the BJP which is probably why Mr Fadnavis does not seem unduly perturbed by Mr Thackeray’s jibes. The Maharashtra CM has also made the BJP stronger in the state and the Sena, weaker.

With its recent assembly election setbacks, the BJP is in overdrive to please its allies. Mr Thackeray sees this as an opportunity to squeeze out more concessions from the BJP. He may be an ally but senses that the only way for the Sena to become stronger is to pretend it is in opposition. Within the state, it is unlikely that this dual role has takers. As the general election get closer, we can expect to see Mr Thackeray ratchet up the rhetoric, but at the end of the day, it is just that and won’t bother the BJP too much.