The recent violence in towns like Amravati over the alleged burning of mosques in Tripura has given fresh ammunition to former saffron allies BJP and Shiv Sena to target each other; will the minority votes go to the new and reformed Sena?
Cops try to douse a fire in a shop after a mob went on a rampage during a bandh allegedly organised by BJP, in Amravati, on November 13. Pic/PTI
Last weekend, violence broke out over a protest called by an organisation of the Muslim community against the atrocities allegedly inflicted upon their brethren in Tripura. Call for a peaceful agitation turned out to be a violent act in the streets and against the police. A counter agitation called the next day by saffron organisations and supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party was no different. In some towns like Amravati, the two communities came face to face creating a serious riot-like situation. The police handled the problem responsibly. Curfews have been imposed in Amravati and an equally sensitive Akola, which reacted to the incidents in the neighbouring district. Actually, Akola has a history of frequent communal incidents. But a low profile Amravati is the latest to join the violent league, though the communal divide isn’t very new to this city that has reflected the pattern in the polling.
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Where there is a communal divide there is politics (or vice versa). The riot-like situation in some of Maharashtra’s towns over the weekend stands testimony to the observation. While writing this, the towns where violence has been reported were under control, but tense. The police have been on guard with senior additional director general rank officers being assigned the ranges to oversee law and order and execute measures to prevent untoward events. The Maha Vikas Aghadi and the BJP have blamed each other for the situation. Muslim organisation Raza Academy is again in the news for wrong reasons because it had given a call for a bandh to protest against the last month’s alleged incidents against Muslims in Tripura, including the burning down of a mosque, which the Tripura Government has dismissed as fake news.
The minority and majority engagement has given rise, again, to the comparison between the Shiv Sena and BJP’s saffron agenda. The BJP has seized the opportunity, especially in places where the Sena-BJP combine had been dominating the electoral scene, and the places where it wanted to expand its base against pro-minority outfits. Amravati gave Sena one of its few Lok Sabha MPs from Vidarbha. Advent on an independent with tacit support from other parties including BJP has cost Sena the seat it has been winning for long in saffron alliance. In Assembly polls, the Congress did unexpectedly well in the district, almost sweeping the dominant BJP-Sena away. Now, with the Sena sitting with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party in the government, the BJP has accused the former partner of betraying the Hindutva that had brought the two together. In Amravati’s communal melee, some people were seen in the streets carrying the saffron flags and photos of “Hinduhridaysamrat” late Balasaheb Thackeray. BJP said the people were Sena workers who did not believe in the transformed Sena that once took pride in being the saviours of Hindu. It will be interesting to see how the Sena secures its Hindutva-driven votes. The BJP-Sena divide has widened further with communal incidents. Will the minority votes that have been shared by non-BJP parties, with outfits like AIMIM making inroads in the places where communal tension has been reported time and again, go to the new and reformed Sena? Next year’s mini Assembly-like local body polls may provide us with some answers.
Cup of woes
While the Congress and NCP are sitting pretty, the Sena, in particular, has been at the receiving end from the BJP. The Sena-controlled public transport department has been at the political centre stage because of the indefinite strike by the public transport employees. The BJP has appropriated the agitation. It had deputed a dedicated force of leaders who are known for making no-holds-barred statements. Mumbai’s Azad Maidan has been buzzing with activity that is far from trade unionism and very close to political activism.
The public transport corporation having pan-Maharashtra reach, the kin and well-wishers of the striking employees have been all ears to the anti-government statements made by senior BJP leaders. So far, Sena’s senior leader and transport minister Anil Parab, who has been a prime target for the BJP because of his proximity with CM Uddhav Thackeray, has fought a sole battle against the striking employees and their political supporters. He understands the game, but to fight it more aggressively, he needs additional support from others in the Sena and MVA. Seems some people enjoy Parab being left alone and undefended.
Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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