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Will Shiv Sena use Hardik Patel to take on BJP in Gujarat?

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Sahil Joshi
Sahil JoshiFeb 07, 2017 | 19:10

Will Shiv Sena use Hardik Patel to take on BJP in Gujarat?

There is a famous dialogue I heard in a Hindi film - "dushman ka dushman dost", the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Shiv Sena and Hardik Patel are clearly working on the same principal.

In the heat of the upcoming Mumbai civic body (BMC) elections, Patel's presence in the city and his meeting with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray clearly indicate what both of them have in mind. Patel flown into Mumbai on a private jet by his Patel Navnirman Sena workers is just not a courtesy call, as was said by him in a joint press conference with Uddhav.

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The Shiv Sena, cowed down by the BJP's success in the 2014 Assembly elections, is looking for every opportunity to send out a strong message to the party. Uddhav, while speaking to India Today, has clearly indicated the Sena's plan to enter into other state and eat up BJP's Hindutva votebank - which they have done in Goa and UP.

But the main battle for the Sena is going to be Mumbai, where the party stood second in the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections, while the BJP got the maximum number of seats with the solid backing of Gujarati, Marwadi and North Indian votes.

Since then, the Shiv Sena has been trying to win over non-Marathi votes as it has realised that just Marathi votes are not enough.

With population of about 35 lakh and around 15 lakh voters in Mumbai, the Gujaratis decide the fate of 50-odd BMC wards and 12-odd Assembly seats. Now that the MNS's charisma is fading, the Shiv Sena needs to concentrate on these votes if it wants to retain power in the crucial BMC.

So Uddhav is concentrating on bringing in Gujarati faces just before the BMC elections. The truth remains that the Gujaratis never voted for the Shiv Sena in Mumbai; it was only after the party took a Hindutva stand, from the 1990s and after the riots, that the community started voting for it.

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Is the BJP worried? (Photo: India Today) 

But all this while, the Sena has been in coalition with the BJP, and the rise of Narendra Modi has put the Gujarati votes in Mumbai strongly behind the BJP. The Sena has pitched in Patel to rope in the Patidar Gujarati votes.

When asked at the press conference about the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" theory, Patel said he was in Mumbai to meet friends and that the purpose of his visit was not political. He also confessed that he was a fan of the late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and had come to seek blessings at his house, Matoshree.   

While addressing the media, Patel said: "I am supporting the Shiv Sena but will not campaign for them directly in the upcoming elections." He will be part of an event organised by the Patel Navnirman Sena in Goregaon on Tuesday evening.

Pointing at the BJP, he said: "We are all looking for azaadi." Uddhav reciprocated his thoughts, saying: "Hardik is fighting for a right cause and we will support him."

When asked if Patel would be the Sena's face for the Gujarat elections, Uddhav said: "He is already a face." So even though the Sena is not disclosing its strategy, it already has a "face" - which can mean trouble for the BJP.  

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This mutual admiration can also be construed as Sena's calculated move to find a partner to fight the Gujarat polls, which it is eyeing. During the Patel agitation, Sena's mouthpiece Saamna had praised Hardik Patel because he had support in huge numbers of the influential Patidar community, which can help counter the BJP in Gujarat.

On the face of it, Patel's visit to Mumbai is a smart move, but only time will tell whether it will give an edge to the Sena in the upcoming polls.

But the party must remember that elections and Patel reservation are different issues. If you look at the large picture, the Shiv Sena's game is nothing more than a symbolic threat to the BJP.

Last updated: February 08, 2017 | 19:42
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