BackBJP-Shiv Sena row clouds Maharashtra winter session
Maharashtra legislature's winter session began in Nagpur on Monday in the backdrop of fresh confrontation between BJP and Shiv Sena
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Mumbai: Maharashtra legislature’s winter session which began in Nagpur on Monday in the backdrop of fresh confrontation between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena, which jointly rule the state. Apparently irked by Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s persistent jibes at the BJP, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has reminded Thackeray that their alliance was given a mandate to govern and not fight.
Thackeray has often made his displeasure with the BJP public over what he has perceived as the Sena’s ‘humiliation’ after the BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the 2014 state elections. In his latest barb at the BJP, Thackeray said the next assembly elections would see the Sena getting the chief minister’s position. Fadnavis has reacted to this public criticism by telling Thackeray that if the ruling partners did not focus on governance, in the next elections even the Sena will not be able to win and have its own chief minister.
Thackeray has also asked the Sena legislators to confront the government on its ‘questionable’ response to drought in more than half the state. Maharashtra has declared drought in more than 14,700 villages and sought a central assistance of ₹ 4,000 crore. Thackeray and other Sena leaders, including ministers in the Fadnavis cabinet, have criticised the delay in getting central assistance and short-term relief. A Sena minister, who did not want to be identified, said Fadnavis was only harping on the long-term measures when farmers and those hit by the drought expected short-term relief as well. “The long-term solutions are fine but who will deliver the short-term relief? People are asking us really tough questions when we visit our constituencies," the Sena minister said.
The BJP feels the real reasons for Sena’s exasperation are different. According to a BJP minister who did not want to be identified, The Sena is angry that it does not hold key portfolios which could have provided it with an opportunity to extend relief and be seen working for the farmers. “Delay in getting assistance from the Centre is a genuine concern that even we feel strongly about. But the Sena’s real problem is that whenever the relief arrives, it may not be able to claim the credit for it because it does not have the crucial portfolios of agriculture and revenue which will distribute the relief," the BJP minister said.
In this backdrop, the winter session in Nagpur could be a tough challenge for the BJP. The Sena has indicated that it may join the opposition Congress-NCP in attacking the government on drought and other issues. Sena is also upset that a cabinet reshuffle which could have accommodated a couple of Sena leaders in the government has not happened yet. The Sena expects to get at least two more cabinet berths if the reshuffle happens, but Fadnavis has not given any indication to this effect.
After the BJP’s crushing defeat in the Bihar elections, there were expectations that the party would become more accommodative of the Sena in Maharashtra and swiftly carry out a cabinet reshuffle before the winter session. According to the BJP minister quoted before, the reshuffle was also supposed to be an effort to pacify the Sena ahead of the winter session. With the Sena concerns not being taken on board and a patchy political response to drought, BJP ministers themselves are expecting a difficult winter session.
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