Mumbai: On Monday, when most of the country’s key political leaders were in Delhi to attend the wedding reception of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla’s daughter, Eknath Shinde stayed away. He sent his son, Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde, in his place.
Amid questions over who the next Maharashtra CM will be following a landslide victory for the ruling Mahayuti and a historic mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), some leaders from Shinde’s party said his absence at the reception was his way of talking tough, showing he means business.
Soon after the election results, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, through its rank and file, started demanding the CM’s post, following the Bihar pattern where the BJP had in 2020 got the highest number of seats but still conceded the top post to Nitish Kumar. The elections, after all, were fought under the leadership of Shinde as CM, party leaders said.
On Tuesday, however, party leaders indicated that they would not stretch their demand beyond a point.
Manisha Kayande, an MLC from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, told ThePrint, “We are serious about pushing for Shinde saheb as CM in our feelings and sentiments. He has given an excellent performance in Maharashtra at a huge personal cost. He has worked hard for two years, sleeping barely three hours each night. But, we do not undermine Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. We fully understand the reality and why BJP may not be willing to let go either.”
Similarly, Deepak Kesarkar, a senior leader of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, told reporters Tuesday that his party will abide by the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Every party wants their leader to be CM, but we have all said that all three parties will accept the decision of Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Amit Shah. There is no ‘narazi (resentment)’. Shinde saheb has conveyed to the BJP leadership, whatever decision you take, it will be acceptable to us.”
Shinde, on Tuesday, formally tendered his resignation as the CM after the term of the previous assembly ended. Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan appointed him as the caretaker CM till the swearing-in of a new government.
The ruling Mahayuti swept last week’s Maharashtra elections, clinching 230 of the 288 assembly seats, with the BJP winning 132 seats at an 88.5 percent strike rate, followed by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s 57 and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP’s) 41.
Leaders from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena have a list of reasons why the alliance might politically benefit from retaining Shinde as CM.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders say there is no “serious” pressure from the Sena to make Shinde the CM, and the party is simply posturing to stamp its position in the alliance and expand its bargaining power.
Sena’s bid to ‘neutralise Thackeray’, BJP’s ‘commitment’ issue
A senior leader from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena—who did not wish to be named—said that Shinde, as chief minister, was instrumental in introducing the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme, said to have been the game changer in this election.
Shinde, as CM, also drove infrastructure projects across Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai. “Various surveys have shown that he was immensely popular as CM, and the elections were fought under his leadership, so the mandate is to see him continue as CM,” the leader said.
For instance, the Lokniti CSDS post-poll survey said 25 percent of voters wanted to see Shinde as CM, followed by a preference of 18 percent for Uddhav Thackeray and 16 percent for Devendra Fadnavis.
The Sena leader added that if the party did not get its due, party workers would start feeling the BJP is treating the Shinde-led Shiv Sena as it treated the undivided Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray in 2019.
After the 2019 assembly poll, the Uddhav Thackeray-led undivided Shiv Sena broke its alliance with the BJP, which, winning 105 seats, emerged as the single largest party in that election. The move came after the BJP refused to accept the Shiv Sena’s demand for sharing the CM’s post for 2.5 years each.
However, a second party leader from Shinde’s home turf of Thane—who did not wish to be named—said, “The party definitely does not want to stretch it to that extent. But, all leaders, party workers, MLAs and functionaries want to see Shinde saheb back in the CM’s chair.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Supriya Sule, Baramati MP from the Opposition Sharad Pawar-led NCP, said, “Whatever else our stand may be, at this point, we have to accept that the success that the Mahayuti got in this election was under CM Shinde’s leadership.”
She added what happened in 2019 is playing out once again. “Uddhav Thackeray was saying the same thing in 2019. And it is happening again in 2024. That shows it’s a commitment issue.”
On the other hand, Shinde-led Sena leaders say how it will be easier to neutralise the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) with Eknath Shinde in the CM’s chair, especially if the Mumbai civic polls are held sometime in 2025.
The undivided Shiv Sena controlled the Mumbai civic body for over 25 years, ruling the country’s richest municipal corporation. That gave the party ample clout, power and resources.
If the Shiv Sena (UBT) bounces back and takes control of the Mumbai civic body, it could create hurdles in works such as the Dharavi redevelopment project, which the Adani Group is implementing. The Shiv Sena (UBT) vowed to scrap the tender in its assembly election campaign.
However, some within the Shinde-led Sena agree that their arguments may not fly with the BJP. “In the BJP’s eyes, they have already overpowered the Shiv Sena (UBT), winning more seats in Mumbai this election and reducing the party to an embarrassingly low tally,” the second party leader, quoted above, said.
In this election, the BJP overpowered the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Mumbai, winning 15 seats against the latter’s 10.
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena won six seats. Leaders from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena point out that the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) damaged its prospects in at least seven more seats that it lost to the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Also Read: Former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan fails to deliver for BJP again as Congress ekes out win in Nanded
BJP leaders say Sena ‘posturing for bargaining power’
On record, BJP leaders maintain that the three leaders of the three Mahayuti parties will take a joint decision about the CM.
On Tuesday, Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule told reporters, “We have already said that Eknath ji, Devendra ji and Ajit dada and our central leadership are deciding this. Ultimately, it will be a strong, stable government. There is no need to create stories and confuse people. Our central leadership will think of everything and reach a decision.”
Two BJP leaders close to Fadnavis said it is natural for the Shinde-led Shiv Sena to demand the CM’s post since Shinde, so far, held the post, but it is nothing more than posturing.
“It is obvious that Shinde will demand the CM’s post. He will eventually settle, but in the process, he will try to get something substantial for his party through the entire exercise. It could be heavier cabinet posts, maybe even a Union post,” he said.
He also dismissed suggestions that a Brahmin CM may not work in an environment where Marathas and Other Backward Classes have remained polarised over the past year.
“They still overwhelmingly voted for the BJP when it was clear that the face of our campaign was Devendra Fadnavis, so caste will not be a factor with such a strong majority,” he said.
The second BJP leader, who did not wish to be named, said it would have been surprising if the Shinde-led Shiv Sena had not demanded the CM’s post.
“Had the party shown that it was giving up the CM’s post easily, it would have been letting down the party’s rank and file. In the past, too, there have been many instances of swearing-ins taking place 10-15 days after results. We want to hammer everything out—all posts, all portfolios—so there is no back and forth once the government is sworn in. We can begin work promptly,” he said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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