Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray almost issued a gag order to legislators Monday after public comments from both sides suggested a rift in the coalition over who would be chief minister if the NDA won the upcoming assembly polls, ThePrint has learnt.
According to legislators from both parties who attended the meeting, the message was clear: Refrain from making comments about the alliance and let senior leaders handle statements about the chief minister’s chair.
Fadnavis and Thackeray together addressed Shiv Sena and BJP MLAs and MLCs at Mumbai’s Vidhan Bhavan Monday evening, on the sidelines of the monsoon session of the legislature, the last session of the current assembly before the elections.
“We were clearly told that all decisions regarding the alliance have already been taken,” said a Shiv Sena MLA who attended the meeting. “Any further decisions that need to be taken will be done by CM Fadnavis, BJP president Amit Shah and the Shiv Sena president, and only statements made by these three leaders regarding the alliance will be considered official,” the MLA added.
“We have been told not to say anything about the alliance, and not to speak to the media about it.”
Rift over CM’s post
Over the past few weeks, there has been a growing rift between the cadres of the BJP and the Shiv Sena, which cemented their alliance once again this February after a spate of tensions rocked their decades-old partnership over the past few years.
On Saturday, Girish Mahajan of the BJP, a minister in the Fadnavis cabinet, said the party had emerged as the older brother in the alliance after the Lok Sabha polls, and the general expectation is that the next CM will be from the BJP.
Earlier, state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar of the BJP had insisted that the next CM of Maharashtra would be from the party if the alliance won the assembly election.
Varun Sardesai of the Yuva Sena, Shiv Sena’s youth wing, had subsequently tweeted that BJP president Amit Shah and Uddhav had decided a rotational chief ministership where both parties would get 2.5 years in office. Other people, he added, should not spoil this alliance for their “personal gain”.
The Shiv Sena, meanwhile, declared in its mouthpiece Saamana last week that by the time the party celebrates its next foundation day, on 19 June 2020, the state would have a Shiv Sena chief minister.
Speaking at a farmers’ gathering in Shirdi Sunday, Thackeray also took a veiled dig at BJP leaders making statements about the CM’s post.
“Those dreaming about the post should first solve the issues of farmers or else their rage can even burn the government,” he said.
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Fadnavis, Thackeray look to curb conflict
Even so, Fadnavis and Thackeray have been trying to quell the growing conflict in the alliance, consistently telling their party cadres to leave such decisions to the top leadership.
Last week, Thackeray invited Fadnavis to share the dais with him at the Shiv Sena’s 53rd foundation day and address his party workers.
This was the first time the Shiv Sena invited a leader of another party to address its ranks on its foundation day. Both leaders used the opportunity to urge their cadres to not worry about the CM’s post, but work towards getting a historic mandate for the alliance.
Fadnavis told Sena workers that he and Thackeray had already decided the modalities of the alliance between them, saying these would be announced at an appropriate time. Meanwhile, he said, party workers should turn a blind eye to media speculations.
The leaders reiterated the message at Monday’s meeting, urging legislators to start work on the assembly elections as soon as they return to their constituencies after the monsoon session, and focus on publicising the BJP-Shiv Sena government’s work.
A similar bid was made in February, during the budget session of the assembly and ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, at a dinner at the CM’s official residence, Varsha.
With the two parties tying up for the polls after a bitter relationship for over four years, Thackeray and Fadnavis told party legislators to leave their differences aside and work together. The Shiv Sena is the BJP’s oldest ally, with their alliance dating back three decades.
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A second term for CM Devendra Fadnavis is locked in. There has been a sea change in the country’s political situation since the BJP President reached out to existing allies like the Shiv Sena and the JDU late last year, firming up alliances. The symbolic offer of one Cabinet slot to each ally, irrespective of number of MPs, reflects the ruling party’s confidence. In the state, the last time the two parties contested the Assembly elections separately, their strengths came in at 122 and 63. In the BMC, long the Sena’s stronghold, the two parties were almost on par. A harmonious reset later this year could create a DyCM’s post for the SS and an equitable sharing of portfolios, proportionate to seats won. Keeping the atmospherics cordial – despite each party’s desire to enlarge its political space – would lead to a more decisive victory.