MVA partners debate going solo in the local body elections, will Mahayuti parties, too, go their separate ways?
Maha Vikas Aghadi. File pic
Maharashtra’s MVA seems to be going the way of the INDIA bloc, that disintegrated over the Delhi Assembly elections. Shiv Sena (UBT) said its workers wanted to go solo in the local body elections. It wasn’t out of context. Sena (undivided) had fought independently of the BJP in 2017 in Mumbai and elsewhere in the state. The Congress and undivided NCP depended largely on the local workers’ sentiments while deciding on a pre-poll alliance. The same strategy worked for the BJP and Sena. These parties have fought against each other in past local body polls. But some seem to have a short-term memory.
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The Congress cried foul, but NCP (Sharad Pawar) saw substance in the Sena’s approach, saying that going alone allowed local leaders to lead, contest and win. However, the Congress felt isolated by the statements, more so after the AAP got most of the INDIA allies on its side in Delhi where Congress will be up against the AAP allies and BJP in the country’s capital. J&K CM Omar Abdullah has asked for the dissolution of the INDIA bloc. It is now for the Congress to ponder over the reasons behind its isolation.
What about Mahayuti?
And, as Maharashtra talked about whether MVA parties would reunite or go their separate ways for the local polls, it is time we shed some light on the BJP-Sena-NCP Mahayuti. The dynamics of the Mahayuti have changed after the Assembly polls, giving rise to speculations and questions. Will the BJP drop the Shinde Sena in the Mumbai (BMC) polls? Will Shinde not be with BJP in Thane and Navi Mumbai? Will BJP have a pact with MNS in Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Pune and Nashik? Where will this leave the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP? Will it stay with the BJP where it is strong?
Questions are aplenty for the ruling alliance that won a brutal mandate in the November Assembly elections, leaving the Opposition very little space in the Lower House. The Opposition’s total number is less than the strength of the Shinde Sena and some seats more than Ajit Pawar’s party. The BJP is way ahead with more than 132 seats. It was a huge shock for MVA which had won over 30 Lok Sabha seats in the summer. Called a mini Assembly election, the local body elections, which have all municipal bodies, and zilla parishad, barring a few, are also pending. Unlike in the past, the local polls will be held after the state elections.
Ambitious BJP
As we’re writing this, the BJP was in its state convention in Shirdi where the party pledged to be stronger than ever. Remember Amit Shah’s proclamation of shat pratishat BJP in Maharashtra by 2029? The local body polls give an exact idea of where each party stands. The brighter among the local winners emerge as official contenders for the state elections.
The BJP would have as many strong aspirants ready if it were to contest 288 seats in the 2029 state elections. It had contested 288 seats along with smaller allies in 2014, ultimately winning power with the single largest strength. It officially went closer to a halfway mark last November.
Unofficially, it matched the number because the candidates it had loaned to the Sena and NCP also won on the new symbols. Their loyalties are still with the BJP. Some among the loaned lot lost and are now preparing to go back to the BJP camp.
Ahead of all, the BJP has changed into top gear to prepare for the elections. By the end of this week, it would have 1.5 crore party members registered. It appointed former minister Ravindra Chavan as the state working president easing the workload of the state president-turned-revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who will demit the party office soon for Chavan’s further elevation as the state chief. The message that the rank and file carries home from the state convention is loud and clear: we have to be number one, come what may.
Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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