MVA allies versus BJP and Centre: It is an all-out war in Maharashtra
MUMBAI : If the recent bitter episode of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray denying state aircraft to governor BS Koshyari to fly to Uttarakhand is any indication, the war between the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and the Raj Bhavan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Centre is set to intensify in the coming days.
Considering Union home minister Amit Shah’s meeting with Koshyari in New Delhi, the Centre and the BJP seem to have taken serious note of the way Koshyari was treated, viewed as a challenge to the Bjp-led Centre.
Leaders from both the BJP and MVA camps say the coming days will see both the Centre and the BJP taking aggressive stand against the Thackeray-led government. The three-party MVA coalition of the Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), too, is gearing up to hit back at the BJP, beginning with the election of Assembly speaker and later luring some of the legislators who had crossed over to the BJP ahead of 2019 elections. The three parties are also looking to win maximum civic bodies and district councils in the elections to be held later this year.
Guv episode
The BJP is seeing the Koshyari incident as a deliberate attempt to confront the governor, who has not cleared the state’s recor ommendations to nominate 12 persons to the legislative Council for three months. Every six years, 12 of the 78 seats of the upper house of state legislature are filled by the governor on the recommendation of the state. “There will be consequences,” said a BJP MP.
Through its mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena said the episode was the fallout of a delay in clearing the names. “The delay in appointments is because he follows the orders from Delhi,” the editorial on Saturday.
Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said, “Saamana editorial said it’s an open war. How can it be a battle when the governor has been acting within the framework of the Constitution?” The ruling parties have now threatened to move court if the recommendations are not cleared soon.
Speaker’s election
Nana Patole’s resignation from the post of Assembly Speaker has necessitated fresh election for the post. The election gives the BJP an opportunity to tap into the dissidence in the ruling camp, as a defeat in the election would lead to collapse of the government. The MVA is looking at it as a chance to show its strength on the floor of the Assembly, ending speculations over its stability. During its confidence vote on November 30, 2019, the ruling combine had garnered support of 169 members, while the BJP had claimed the support of 114 MLAS. Parties like AIMIM, CPI(M) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had abstained from voting.
Fadnavis recently said, “A speaker is elected unopposed and it’s the tradition of the state, but it all depends on how the Opposition is treated by the ruling parties.”
MVA leaders claim they can win upto 175 votes. NCP leader
Shashikant Shinde said, “The MVA has retained its strength, but the question is whether the BJP has it?”
Local bodies’ battle
As many as 15 municipal corporations, 27 district councils and about 100 nagar panchayats are going to polls over next two years.
Touted as mini assembly polls, the political ground will heat up among the four parties. When it was in power for five years until September 2019, the BJP successfully gained top position in local bodies, winning over 14 of 27 municipal corporations, 11 of the 34 district councils. This helped the party drum up support at ground level during the 2019 elections.
The first such confrontation will be in the next few months as five municipal corporations, Navi Mumbai, Vasai Virar, Kalyan-dombivli, Kolhapur and Aurangabad; two district councils of Bhandara and Gondiya and about 90 nagar panchayats governing small towns go to polls.
MVA leaders say they have begun deliberations on the strategy, which means the three parties will form a coalition where the BJP is strong. They will contest separately where they have strength and do not want the BJP to take up the entire Opposition space.
For instance, in Navi Mumbai, the three parties are likely to contest together to defeat strongman Ganesh Naik who is now with the BJP.
In Kalyan-dombivli, where the Sena is dominant, the NCP and Congress may contest as its junior partner or strategically as Opposition. In Aurangabad, the three ruling parties cannot come together due to fundamental differences over renaming of Aurangabad.
“In local body elections, we will contest either as an alliance individually depending upon the local equations to ensure the BJP is kept out of power,” said Congress working president Arif Naseem Khan. “The Sena will fight alone in areas where it is strong, just like the Congress and NCP. We have the option of postpoll alliance,” said Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut.
Reverse poaching
“If it is going to be an all-out war, we, too, need to be aggressive. Don’t be surprised if you see defectors returning to the NCP or Congress,” said a top NCP leader. “We have been getting feelers for quite some time. Now there could be time for action. This would discourage the BJP from trying to topple our government.”
NCP leader and minority affairs minister Nawab Malik said last month that Shivendra Raje Bhosale (BJP’S Satara MLA who was earlier in NCP) and some other BJP leaders are eager to join the party.
BJP leaders maintain that the speculations are being spread by the MVA partners.
Talks of ‘collapse’
The first year of the MVA government saw uncertainty and speculations of collapse.
“It is not hunky-dory. Neither the Congress, nor the Ajit Pawar faction in the NCP is happy. There is resentment over the style of functioning of CM Thackeray. Sooner or later the MVA will implode,” said a senior BJP leader. Mungantiwar said: “We are not interested in toppling the government.”
Political analyst Hemant Desai said, “Metro car shed, TRP probe too will be the flashpoints between the MVA and BJP in near future. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has a strong back up to Uddhav Thackeray, and so is the coordination with the key Congress leaders. However, the faceoff is majorly between Shiv Sena and BJP.”
Koshyari episode may intensify the fight; Assembly speaker and local body polls will be next targets for both MVA and BJP