EARNING HIS STRIPES
Uddhav Thackeray’s ability to pursue a governance agenda will be severely constrained. By agreeing with his new allies to soft-pedal Hindutva, he has signalled his intent to play ball
After a week of high drama, Uddhav Thackeray becomes Maharashtra chief minister. Can he manage the triple alliance?
On November 28, more than a month after the results of the assembly election were declared on October 24 and following a week of high political drama, Uddhav Thackeray became the first in his family to become chief minister of Maharashtra. He left the BJP, the Shiv Sena’s ally of 30 years, bargaining for two and a half years of chief ministership, and ended up winning a full term with the help of his political rivals of 30 years, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, under the aegis of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The momentousness of the occasion was evident, as an emotional Thackeray told the gathering of 165 MVA lawmakers in Mumbai: “Those I worked with for 30 years betrayed me, but those I fought for 30 years showed trust in me.”
It hasn’t been easy by any means so far, and won’t be any easier going forward. Thackeray had sensed his opportunity as soon as the election results were declared, and the BJP won only 105 seats, 40 short of the required majority in the 288-member house. At a press conference in the party’s
headquarters in Mumbai that day, he had vowed: “Mee Shiv Sainikala mukhyamantri karanaarach (I will make a Shiv Sainik the chief minister).” Never mind that his party had won 49 seats less than the BJP.
Even before the BJP refused to accede to his demand for rotating the chief ministership, Thackeray had, in informal interactions with the media, said, “We have all options open,” perhaps indicating that he was not averse to seeking support from the Congress and the NCP.
That possibility soon turned into reality as the BJP refused to play ball, and Thackeray had to approach Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi for their parties’ support to help the Sena form the government. It took the alliance close to 25 days to fructify. And just as it did, the BJP orchestrated the farce of installing Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister with the help of Pawar’s nephew Ajit, who assumed the post of deputy chief minister.
With the courts ordering a floor test by November 27, and Fadnavis realising he could not muster the numbers, that government swiftly collapsed. But even as the drama was being played out, Thackeray had, while working out the contours of the coalition government with NCP chief
Sharad Pawar and state Congress president Vijay, also known as Balasaheb Thorat, decided to give up his party’s core agenda, Hindutva, the one reason for the Congress’s reluctance and delay in allying with his party. He also agreed to give key portfolios, such as home, finance, revenue and power, to his allies. The chinks ironed out, the way was clear for Thackeray to become chief minister.
THE ROAD AHEAD
The battle, however, is only half-won. Thackeray, who has never been a lawmaker, first needs to get elected to the legislative council. He will be the first Maharashtra chief minister without any experience in administration and legislature. “There will be several seasoned leaders in Thackeray’s cabinet,” says Mumbai-based political commentator Hemant Desai. “They are likely to dominate the government, taking advantage of his lack of experience.”
But what Thackeray may lack in experience he makes up for in political acumen and a can-do spirit. Thackeray’s ambition has been evident ever since he came out of the shadows of his charismatic cousin Raj Thackeray and Narayan Rane to assume full control of the Sena in 2007,
once Balasaheb Thackeray took a backseat from the party’s affairs on health grounds (see: The Rise of Uddhav Thackeray). Sena leaders are also confident that Thackeray will prove to be an able administrator. “He is very focused and hardworking, completes whatever he is determined to do,” says Dr Neelam Gorhe, deputy chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
However, the onerous task of managing a coalition with disparate partners will remain. Thackeray has, for the moment, suppressed the Sena’s Hindutva agenda, but he will have to navigate through several potential flashpoints; the thirst for power will be only one binding factor. The Congress and the NCP have indicated they will insist on 5 per cent reservation for Muslims in educational institutions, but Thackeray may not back the idea. The NCP is of the view that cooperative sugar mills and district cooperative banks should get financial assistance from the government for their survival. As the Sena does not control any cooperative sugar mill or bank, Thackeray may find it difficult to agree to the demand. Both the Congress and NCP want to
revive Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs), as a means to assert their control over the rural economy. APMCs were as good as abolished by the Fadnavis government. The Union government, too, has been keen on curtailing APMCs following the introduction of the National Agriculture Market, or e-NAM. The Sena’s alliance partners are likely to mount pressure on Thackeray to oppose the Centre’s proposal.
NCP Mumbai president Nawab Malik, however, says the MVA government will iron out differences along the way. “The Shiv Sena became a hardcore Hindutva party only after it came in contact with the BJP. I do not anticipate clashes amongst the allies as we understand each other better,” says Malik.
A Sena leader says Thackeray is expected to draft policies to improve living conditions in 15 municipal corporation cities, including Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad, where the party hopes to outperform the BJP in future. Thackeray’s vision for Mumbai includes creating ample space for playgrounds and gardens. This, however, will require altering the city’s development plan sanctioned by the previous government. Fadnavis had
fast-tracked metro rail projects. The Metro-3 project, connecting Colaba in south Mumbai to Santacruz in the north, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021. The new government will need to keep the project on track.
Control of the Mantralaya should give Thackeray an opportunity to fulfil two of his cherished dreams. First, a world-class theme park at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. As per rules, the state government can take control of the land as its lease has expired. Thackeray favours greater autonomy for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), ruled by the Sena since 1997. He wants to see Mumbai’s mayor wielding greater powers, on the lines of the mayor of New York. At present, Mumbai is governed by seven state and central agencies. Thackeray would prefer a single nodal agency. “Ideally, it should be the BMC,” suggests senior Sena leader Diwakar Raote.
Thackeray’s other priority in Mumbai would be the redevelopment of koliwadas (settlements of fishing communities, who are Sena loyalists). He has also been demanding redevelopment of the British-era Bombay Development
Directorate (BDD) chawls in Worli, which now house police constabulary. With son Aaditya elected as an MLA from Worli, this could be a key project of the new government.
Farmers and the rural economy are the thrust areas in the MVA’s common minimum programme. Thackeray has already promised financial assistance to farmers affected by floods and a complete waiver of farmers’ loans. Crop insurance for farmers remains a sticky issue, and the Sena had earlier warned private insurance companies to settle such claims on time or face an agitation. The NCP’s Dhananjay Munde suggests the Madhya Pradesh model of crop insurance in the state. “If a farmer invests Rs 1,400 on his crop and earns Rs 1,000 from the produce, the government should pay the difference, of Rs 400, and not the entire amount of Rs 1,400. That will reduce the government’s financial burden, too,” he says.
FUNDS CRUNCH
Several of the Sena’s populist poll promises, such as a full meal at Rs 10 through 10,000 eateries, clinics offering screening for some 200 ailments at Re 1, and a 30 per cent cut in power tariffs for domestic users, threaten to further drain a
state already reeling under a debt of Rs 4.85 lakh crore (see: Challenges for Uddhav). Thackeray will also need to reassess the previous government’s water conservation scheme, the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan. Towards the end of Fadnavis’s tenure, the scheme drew criticism for having allegedly become pro-contractor.
Thackeray will be under pressure to overhaul the education system as well. During his statewide Jan Ashirwad Yatra in August-September, son Aaditya had promised ample employment opportunities for the youth and a job-oriented curriculum that would stay relevant for the next 25 years.
Thackeray’s sour relations with elder brother Jaidev and cousin Raj have always been talking points in political circles. His legal battle with Jaidev over their late father’s property is well-known. Already, workers of the Raj-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have started a whisper campaign that the time has come for the estranged cousins to patch up. In a season of alliances, will this be another possibility for Thackeray to explore? ■