Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut: Polls are DNA test to prove who is elder brother

Sanjay Raut

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be winning hearts across the country, its staunchest, and perhaps loudest critic, is its own ally - the Shiv Sena. The party at the Centre, which first joined hands with the Sena in 1989 when the late Bal Thackeray was party chief, has had a good run with the saffron party - the Sena-BJP government was formed in the state in 1995 and in the 2012 BMC elections, they had a seat sharing pact where Sena got 75 seats of the total 135 it contested.

It now seems to be all over, however. Last week, after a third round of seat-sharing talks for the upcoming BMC polls failed - Sena wanted to give BJP a mere 60 seats out of 227, which the BJP that currently rules the BMC with 32 seats, refused to accept. Sena had come down hard and heavy on Prime Minister Narendra Modi post demonetisation. On Thursday, Sena chief, Uddhav Thackeray, cut off his party's 20-year-old ties with the BJP, calling the party a "wild bull" and accusing it of harbouring goons and caring only about power.

Yet, what was missing was vitriol against BJP's chief minister in the state, Devendra Fadnavis. Perhaps, because if plans don't run smoothly, it will be Fadnavis who is likely to broker a deal between the two parties. Sena's Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and editor of the party mouthpiece Saamana, Sanjay Raut, says these BMC polls will prove who the more powerful of the two is.

Edited excerpts from an interview.

Was the BJP-Shiv Sena's 1980s alliance an emotional one?
The late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and senior BJP leaders like Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani and the late Pramod Mahajan shared a strong bond. The alliance was then inked merely on points of Hindutva and working towards a 'Congress Mukt Bharat', which even today's gen-next BJP leaders are talking about.

Sanjay Raut and Uddhav Thackeray are confident that Shiv Sena will retain power in the BMC elections. File pic

Has a mathematical calculation replaced the emotional ties that were at the centre of the alliance?
Yes. It's unfortunate that today everything is governed by the numbers game. While once strong emotions ruled, now there are cut-and-dry transactions. However, Sena still feels strongly about the alliance. But, the BJP has changed and is behaving like a trader and not like a partner. Even when the BJP's support base in Maharashtra was minimal, Balasaheb gave them equal respect and accepted a seat-sharing formula not on the basis of party strength, but on the grounds of Hindutva. Today, when the BJP has more elected representatives than the Sena, its leaders are talking about seat sharing based on political strength. They seem to have forgotten the old days.

Is the Sena confident of reaching the magic figure of 227 (for any party to claim the mayoral post, it needs to have 115 seats individually or with support of another party)?
Yes, without doubt. We will comfortably sail through and get the numbers required to claim the coveted post of Mumbai's mayor.

Can you assure voters that once the results are announced, Shiv Sena will not join hands with the BJP, if either of the two parties falls short?
Shiv Sena will not need any crutches. It will retain power single-handedly. I am sure that the Dombivli-Kalyan pattern will not be repeated in Mumbai (during the 2015-held Kalyan-Dombivli civic polls, Sena-BJP contested separately but formed an alliance post the polls to claim power). The BJP claims that its voter base has increased drastically, especially during the last two years of PM Narendra Modi's regime and that the party is now the elder brother in the state and Mumbai politics. The BMC poll is the DNA test. Results will prove who the elder brother is. chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was positive, yet an alliance did not work out. It is said that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was keen on inking an alliance. But, then only the CM knows or can tell you why it did not happen. We still have a lot of respect and affection for the CM.

Will Sena walk out of the state and union government?
In politics, timing is everything. As Uddhav Thackeray put the saffron alliance to an end at an appropriate time, he will take the right decision at the right time on the state and union government alliance as well. NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar has said that the party is ready for mid-term polls and will not support the current BJP-led Maharashtra government. In political circles, it is said that whatever Mr Pawar says, you have to understand that the opposite is true.

There are talks that Raj Thackeray (president of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Uddhav's cousin) has offered to help Shiv Sena to take on the BJP in these civic polls. Will Sena and MNS come together?
With an election around, there's always gossip about new alliances or a political understanding between parties. But, to the best of my knowledge, there is no such proposal. If at all such a development shapes up, it is the Shiv Sena chief who will take the final call.