Shinde Sena, a year later

Lacking teeth in many departments, the EC-approved splinter group still has a long way to go

The state Congress has proclaimed that the Karnataka results will be repeated in Maharashtra, mostly because of its bullish electoral appeal that should give it a significant share of Lok and Vidhan Sabha seats, if the Maha Vikas Aghadi stayed as a pre-poll pact. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has been very vocal in insisting that the number of seats it had won last time were to remain with it. The Nationalist Congress Party has said it is a big brother to the Congress as far as seat-sharing is concerned. The hustle in the MVA camp may bring some cheer to the ruling parties, especially the BJP, which has a lot at stake in Maharashtra, in association with the Eknath Shinde-led Sena splinter group, which hasn’t proved its electoral mettle yet, barring a mixed performance in some small local body polls. Where does Shinde Sena stand then on the battlefield, a year after it unseated the then CM Uddhav Thackeray?

Trailing others

It seems the Shinde Sena is struggling to cement its space in the political arena where creating a favourable public perception is seen as a primary task for any party. The four major parties are already on the job, pushing themselves harder than before as they see the elections approaching. They have been reaching out to the voters through rallies and events. They are about to reorganise their leadership structures keeping in view the electoral requirements. They counter one another unabashedly as if there is no tomorrow. But in all this, the Shinde Sena is hardly noticed for its cohesiveness and consistency as a party that has been recognised by the Election Commission and allowed to stay on in power by the Supreme Court. The party may even win the next legal battles as well, paving the way for uninterrupted governance till the next Assembly elections.

But as of now, the Shinde Sena seems to be lacking teeth in many departments. Firstly, it has not been able to create a team of spokespersons who can match, if not outwit the opponents. The leaders (now ministers), who were branded as ‘blazing guns’ in the united Sena, have gone silent.  Since the verbose in the party created controversy time and again, rather than making a good point for the party, they have been told to shut up. Some leaders have been encouraged to do the talking but are hardly effective. That leaves only the CM and a couple of his trusted ministers (also his MP son) to do the talking. Perhaps, the Shinde Sena has outsourced its defence to the BJP, which has adopted a football strategy of deputing specific attackers/defenders to mark rival team members. Of late, one such duel is being seen between the BJP’s Nitesh Rane and the Sena MP Sanjay Raut. Both are unfailingly consistent in unleashing a barrage.

Come June

The month of June will bring the two Senas face to face when they celebrate the party’s foundation day on the 19th. The two factions may also have a convention of the party office-bearers. In an effort to consolidate its position in future legal battles, the Uddhav Thackeray faction is expected to come up with a fool-proof organisational structure next month. Shinde, who is the head of the EC-approved Sena, may also come up with a new strategy that is backed by his legal team, even as the Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar determines the real Shiv Sena while deciding on the disqualification of the MLAs.

June 30 will mark the first anniversary of the Shinde-Fadnavis government. The run-up to the event began with a campaign regarding the government’s achievements, welfare schemes and other milestones it has claimed to have reached within a short period of one year. Comparison with the previous MVA government will be inevitable when the BJP-Sena leaders go to town with their government’s performance. The BJP has already put its cadre in service to take “Shasan Aplya Dari’ scheme (government at your doorstep) to the voters.  A publicity blitzkrieg for the double engine sarkar with PM Narendra Modi upfront and CM Eknath Shinde and DCM Devendra Fadnavis sharing credit will roll out soon. The campaign will be in tune with the idea of exploring the Modi magic for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Also Read: Mumbai: Uddhavji’s Shiv Sena won’t cross the 50 mark in the BMC elections, says Ashish Shelar

Nullah contest

June brings Mumbai a fear of clogged drains and stalled traffic. People expect more trouble this year because of dug-up roads and traffic diversions. As the BJP city chief Ashish Shelar went on inspecting the desilting work and nullah safai, CM Shinde also undertook a tour of the city’s rivers and nullahs, issuing instructions and initiating disciplinary action against the inefficient. This year as well, the Shinde sarkar will be held responsible for the monsoon mess, because it has been directly controlling the BMC since the onset of the last seasonal rains. Ceremonious it may have been, but Shinde’s tour was not devoid of a political vision in light of the BJP’s campaign to install its Mayor against the rival Sena faction’s resolve to retain power in the BMC. Shinde has to be assured of his place in the fight, unless he has already handed Mumbai’s turf to the BJP, keeping Thane with himself.

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