Mumbai: At a time when tensions are high between the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena ahead of local body polls, a new flashpoint is causing tremors in the volatile Mahayuti alliance. A BJP heavyweight has been flexing his muscles in Shinde’s stomping grounds, in what is being seen as a bid to marginalise the deputy chief minister.
According to insiders, the BJP central leadership has given its stamp of approval to its Maharashtra chief Ravindra Chavan to expand the party’s footprint in the state. And Chavan has taken the mission to Shinde’s home turf Thane, aggressively inducting Sena workers in a district with seven municipal corporations.
“If anyone wants to grow, they look for an upgrade. And the BJP is a stronger party. So Chavan saheb is not responsible for poaching. He is tasked with expanding the party, and he is focusing on that. When people come to us, we vet them and induct them. What is wrong with that?” a BJP functionary, who is close to Chavan, told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
The functionary further said: “Some people want to switch sides willingly. BJP is at the Centre, state, and also has a strong grassroots presence. They are looking to further their careers and better prospects. So we are not going to them, they are coming to us.”
Maharashtra’s Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, who is with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, admitted that there was disgruntlement over the BJP’s inductions in Palghar, Thane, and other districts. “There is a race to induct people in parties ahead of local body polls. There was disgruntlement on our side; there was some disgruntlement on the other side, too,” Sarnaik told the media.
This comes at a time when there are already telltale signs of friction between the two allies. From fist-fighting to poaching Shiv Sena functionaries and ex-corporators and inducting them, the BJP is pulling no stops in expanding its footprint in Maharashtra, making Shinde restless.
Earlier this week, all Sena ministers, apparently upset over the BJP’s alleged poaching, boycotted the Maharashtra Cabinet meeting on 19 November in a show of protest—a rare occurrence in the state’s history. Shinde was the only one who attended.
The deputy CM even approached Union Minister Amit Shah the same day and complained, but that has not yielded any results.
Polling for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats in Maharashtra is scheduled for 2 December, with counting the day after. The nomination process ended on 17 November, with the final list of candidates to be published on 26 November.
Political analysts believe this is a ploy to cut Shinde down to size, as part of a long game where the BJP can ultimately fight elections solo.
“Ravindra Chavan, who has quite a presence in the Thane district belt, has been trying to checkmate Shinde for a long time now. In fact, he was brought up precisely to control Shinde’s power,” political analyst Hemant Desai told ThePrint. “Shinde was given air by the BJP leadership, and now, it is trying to cut him to size.”
Prakash Bal, another political analyst ThePrint spoke to, who hails from Thane, suggested all the moves have happened only after consultations with Union Minister Amit Shah.
“Amit Shah had said that we don’t need crutches, and so, the party is now trying to marginalize Shinde. They will do it slowly but will do it for sure. Shah had already said BJP will fight the 2029 elections on its own, so this is a start of it,” he said.
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Ravindra Chavan: Aggressive tactics
Ravindra Chavan is originally from the Konkan region. However, he has been the BJP’s MLA from Dombivali since 2009, re-elected in 2014, 2019, and 2024. He and Shinde have been at loggerheads for a long time.
Since the BJP made Chavan its state president earlier this year, he has aggressively expanded the party in the state, particularly in the Thane belt. “He is a very meticulous leader. He has been tasked with expanding our party, and that is his focus. So far, we have inducted many functionaries from the Opposition camp,” the party functionary quoted earlier said.
However, the bone of contention is that the BJP is carrying out its expansion programme, ‘Operation Lotus’, in the Thane belt, including Kalyan-Dombivali, which is the bastion of Eknath Shinde’s MP son Shrikant, using none other but the deputy CM’s functionaries.
Last week, the BJP inducted three former corporators from Kalyan-Dombivali—Sena’s Mahesh Patil, Sunita Patil, and Sayali Vichare—upsetting Shinde.
“We understand that it is an alliance, but then they, especially Ravindra Chavan, should refrain from taking our leaders and functionaries into their party. They are not following the alliance dharma,” said a Shiv Sena functionary from Thane. “Some of the disgruntled functionaries from the BJP were ready to come to us, but we did not want any issue in the alliance, so we did not induct any of them.”
After the Sena ministers boycotted the cabinet meeting Tuesday, Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting and called for a “truce”. Speaking to reporters, Shinde said a no-poaching pact had been declared. “No party leaders or members will be poached…within any party in the Mahayuti.”
Meanwhile, Ravindra Chavan has been holding continuous and regular meetings with party functionaries, assigning them ward-level work, and helping expand the party’s cadre base.
“He has been meeting people one-to-one while appointing district-level heads. Also, he is very meticulous about maintaining a balance in caste equations and women’s presence. He is doing it transparently,” said another BJP functionary from Thane.
Political analyst Desai said the Shinde father-son duo is the BJP’s target. Shrikant Shinde, MP from Kalyan, holds power in the Kalyan-Dombivali belt, so the BJP is taking him on too. “If he wants to come back to power, Shrikant will have to prove himself in the municipal corporation. The BJP is poaching from Kalyan-Dombivali because the party wants to reduce Shrikant’s power and eventually claim his seat…. Besides, Shrikant is Shinde’s weakness, and the BJP wants to take the father-son bastion.”
Thane: The new battlefield
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena workers and the BJP workers entered into a scuffle on 20 November during celebrations for a Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) housing scheme. Later, the former registered a police complaint against Narayan Pawar, a former BJP corporator from Thane.
Pawar and his supporters allegedly assaulted the Sena’s shakha pramukh Haresh Mahadik and up-shakha pramukh Mahesh Lahane during a Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) housing scheme celebration.
However, later, speaking to a Marathi channel, Narayan Pawar denied all allegations. He claimed that he went to the meeting to congratulate residents and that “some people have filed police cases with wrong information”.
Naupada police have registered a non-cognizable offence and are investigating.
The 20 November incident is not the first instance of fist-fighting between workers of the two allied parties.
In February 2024, BJP’s then-legislator Ganpat Gaikwad and his four accomplices were arrested for an assassination attempt on a Shiv Sena leader on the premises of a police station. Ganpat Gaikwad was accused of targeting Mahesh Gaikwad, the Kalyan unit head of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, inside a room in the senior inspector’s office at Ulhasnagar’s Hill Line police station.
Mahesh Gaikwad was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery, which, according to reports, was successful. Ganpat Gaikwad was arrested, and later, the court, while denying bail, said he had been remanded on charges including attempted murder.
Prakash Bal said cornering Shinde in Thane would create the perception that even grassroots-level workers were starting to lose faith in him. “Thane is a bastion of Eknath Shinde. So if the BJP poaches people from Thane, it will be a problem for Shinde. His power will start to diminish. There is a lot of disgruntlement in his party since the BJP has been very aggressive in Thane.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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