How Sena-BJP Lost 1999 State Elections Over ‘Marathi Face’

Time’s a great healer, they say. However, a mysterious episode from 1999 probably still rankles Raj Thackeray as he brought it up at the ‘reunion rally’ on Saturday.

The Shiv Sena and the BJP, led by Narayan Rane, lost power in 1999 after helming the state affairs since 1995. At the behest of the BJP, the state assembly was dissolved ahead of the term ending March 2000. The BJP, it is said, convinced the then Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray that the alliance would return to power as Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

One day, when Raj Thackeray was at Matoshree, BJP leader Prakash Jawdekar and a few others came and urged for an urgent meeting with Balasaheb about their chief ministerial candidate Suresh Jain. Balasaheb was woken from his siesta and informed about the “urgent visit and Jain’s candidature”. However, Balasaheb rejected the idea outright and said he wouldn’t agree to anyone but a ‘Marathi face’.

The Sena made all efforts to retain power and had a group of Independent MLAs and other smaller parties. However, the BJP was asking for the CM’s position, which the Sena consistently refused. Sources said the BJP was keen on Gopinath Munde but Sena kept declining. As a candidate of consensus, Jain’s name was proposed; he was a Shiv Sena MLA and a cabinet member. The deadlock didn’t end, though over Maharashtrian roots and the alliance lost power to shrewd moves by the Congress and NCP leaders, paving the way for Vilasrao Deshmukh as the CM.