BJP-Shiv Sena: All is not well
It’s that time of the year when greeting card companies and gift makers are rolling out presents with memorable quotes related to friendship and undying love. In this season of mushy quotes, the one saying that rings truest in Maharashtra’s corridors of power is this — "Friendship is like a glass, handle with care because once broken cannot be mended. And even if mended a crack is always there". The friendship in question here is that of the BJP and the Shiv Sena, former friends-turned-foes who are back to doing business together, albeit with a generous dose of suspicion and insecurity. Which makes the Sena attacks its partner in government over various issues, often playing the role of an opposition while in government. The Sena recently used its mouthpiece, Saamna, to attack Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for not doing enough for farmers in the state even as he was “busy rolling out the red carpet” to investors during his trip to Davos. The editorial criticised his inaction in providing relief to farmers despite being a politician from Vidarbha, the drought-stricken region that records the maximum number of farmer suicides in the state. “For the first time, the chief minister and the finance minister are from Vidarbha but suicides still continue,” the editorial had said.
Less than a fortnight ago, the Sena strongman Ramdas Kadam, who is the minister for environment, took a jibe at Fadnavis saying that the “CM should not make money, but draw up a plan to provide affordable homes to Marathi 'manoos' in Mumbai”. Even as the state BJP questioned the propriety of Kadam’s public remarks, the minister is believed to have had the tacit backing of his party.
The Sena’s strategy to keep the BJP on its toes is being followed by the party boss as well. A week ago, Uddhav Thackeray pulled up the Union Government for not revoking Article 370 despite having a majority in Parliament. Through an editorial in Saamna, the Sena also took potshots at Maharashtra finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar saying that if he could ban alcohol in parts of Vidarbha, why could he not stop farmer suicides.
In another case of defiance of the CM’s bid to speed up decisions, the Shiv Sena leader and state industries minister Subhash Desai reportedly has asked Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC)'s joint CEO to forward to him all proposals related to land allotment in industrial areas for approval.
The constant strife between the allies in government is a residue of the bitter battle the two parties fought during the state elections in October last year. The former friends broke up their two decade-long marriage to fight the polls separately, trading bitter charges against each other. With the BJP falling short of the requisite majority by a few seats, the chief minister inducted Sena ministers during a Cabinet expansion in December. But Fadnavis’ strategy of buying peace clearly hasn’t worked.
The Sena, however, isn’t playing a mischief monger without a purpose. The party doesn’t want to be seen playing second fiddle to the BJP and wants to be seen as protecting the interests of the people even at the cost of challenging the CM. For the Sena, being the voice of the sons-of-the-soil is imperative to its long-term survival and political gains. Which is why, for the next five years, the party is unlikely to let Fadnavis sit comfortably in his seat. The Sena will continue eyeing every opportunity to pull the rug from under the CM’s feet.