Unlikely Allies
They put their common goal over political rivalry to script a new chapter in Maharashtra politics
SHARAD PAWAR, 79, NCP UDDHAV THACKERAY, 59, SHIV SENA
POLITICS MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS alright. Sworn enemies till the other day, Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar came together in an unlikely alliance along with the Congress this November after prolonged deliberation and high drama. This when the Shiv Sena chief and now the chief minister of Maharashtra would always say that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Pawar was ‘untrustworthy’. And Pawar would call Thackeray a ‘novice’ who did not understand either the economy or farming.
As recently as December 2019, Thackeray told journalists that he found it difficult to accept that his party had parted ways with long-time ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, the BJP’s constant sidelining of his party had pushed Thackeray into a corner. And he got the perfect opportunity to exact revenge when the BJP failed to win a majority on its own—securing just 105 seats out of the 288 seats in the state assembly—in the state election in October. With 56 Sena MLAs Thackeray decided to break his alliance with the BJP and seek NCP-Congress support to have the first member of the Thackeray family become the chief minister of the state.
And despite their initial reservations about aligning with a party which supports the Hindutva agenda, the common desire to keep the BJP out of power in the state is what helped the alliance materialise. Keenly tracking developments in the BJP and Sena, Pawar fanned Thackeray’s ambition to lead the state, asked him to tone down his stance on Hindutva—its chief ideological point of difference with the
Congress—to make it easier for the latter to join the coalition.
Can the odd couple of politics pull it off? Pawar has some 50 years of experience in administration and legislative proceedings; Thackeray is a newcomer. Pawar is fickle in his political loyalties, this is the first time Thackeray has ditched his political allies. Yet, both have total control over their parties; their goals too are clear. They also have excellent family relations. Also, having played the lead role in crafting the coalition government, Pawar is unlikely to rock the boat. Sena, Congress and NCP workers, Pawar says, have accepted that they need to work together for the government to survive. Thackeray, too, says his workers are handling the ground situation tactically. In a clear indication that they have buried the hatchet, the two have increased the frequency of their meetings. Thackeray, for the first time, went to Pawar’s house with his family, wishing him on his birthday on December 12. Pawar reciprocated, calling Thackeray a sincere leader. If their government lasts a full term, the duo would have changed Maharashtra politics forever.