Maharashtra assembly elections: Uddhav Thackeray sets the ball rolling

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar during the gathering of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) workers and office-bearers ahead of state Assembly elections in Mumbai on Friday. Pic/PTI

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray lifted the curtains on suspense over his move to speak at the beginning of the MVA conclave in Mumbai last week. In political functions, the senior leaders address the gatherings after their juniors are done. But this time, Thackeray changed the protocol and opened the innings. He set the agenda that hogged the limelight and headlines and sent tongues wagging in the Opposition and ruling camps. He said he was not in the chief minister's race, and he would support any face the Congress and NCP chose to project in the Assembly elections. But in return, he demanded unity and freedom from infighting in the alliance, which put up a good show in the Lok Sabha elections. Congress leader Nana Patole said the decision was not in his hands. NCP (SP) boss Sharad Pawar said the top priority was to change the government, and indicated that the rest could happen later.

Sena's say

Last week, this column discussed the projection of various leaders as the next CM and the politics behind it. In the meantime, Thackeray had visited Delhi to discuss MVA's future course with the Congress leaders. It is said he had discussed it with Pawar, too. Going by his party leaders' media talk, Thackeray would be the best bet for the MVA's face. But it seems now that the alliance partners were unwilling to buy UBT Sena's proposal, which is still being marketed by Thackeray's associates, who believe that Thackeray had won people's hearts as the CM, and scored more political points than ever when he quit during the party coup of 2022.

The glitch

However, since he didn't get a good number of MPs elected despite contesting the maximum seats seems to have gone against him in the MVA camp. Congress is confident of reclaiming the numbers enough for one-upmanship, and so is Pawar's NCP. The two parties have mastered the art of pre-poll and post-poll alliance politics. The current situation appears to be conducive for the game they are better at. So, Thackeray's concerns cannot be seen as misplaced. He said he too had an experience of being in alliance with the BJP for many years and got affected because of the arrangement that the party with the highest number would get the CM's office. Some observers felt that Thackeray's announcement would help him build an image of a leader who is willing to sacrifice for the good, and not become a sacrificial lamb in alliance politics. It is also said that his latest move might harden the resolve of the Sena (UBT) rank and file to get their top leader through to the top, again. It is another matter that the BJP saw the declaration as Thackeray's coming to terms with dominant allies. People in the Congress-NCP have taken it as a counter to their indecisiveness about choosing a CM's face.

Mahayuti and Ladki Bahin

It is confirmed that the state polls will happen only after Diwali. The delay, which according to the election commission is unavoidable and within the legal framework, may have given the Mahayuti government more time to reach out officially to the people, but then, the partners are also pressed to work even harder to dispel an allegation that the election was delayed because they feared the Opposition. On the opposite side, the MVA is concerned about the political influence of the Ladki Bahin scheme in which eligible women, who constitute one of the largest vote banks, are given R1,500 per month. The first two installments have been given. Relief for the government is that it has more time to rectify glitches and expand labharthi base further in the next two months. In the meantime, Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar have begun reaching out to district towns for women-specific events.

At the scheme's inaugural function in Pune on Saturday, much more was in store for the labarthis. CM Eknath Shinde promised to double the amount to R3,000 per month if Mahayuti returns to Mantralaya. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that just like the schemes he had started as the CM between 2014 and 2019, the MVA if voted to power, would scrap all the schemes that were started by the Mahayuti government. Undoubtedly, the BJP-led combine has pinned its high hopes on the big-spending cash assistance scheme.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore

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