Mumbai: Heech tee Vel (This is the moment) was the tagline of Shiv Sena for the election campaign. Post-election, the tagline has become a political reality. But whether the Sena has the spunk to grab "the moment" and successfully negotiate the CM’s post – for the first half term -- is a debatable question.
In the interim, all eyes are on a meeting of the elected MLAs at Matoshree on Saturday. The Shiv Sena, playing hardball with the BJP, has in a tactical move offered to form a government in alliance with the NCP.
As per the formula suggested by the Sena, it will get the CM’s post along with 21 Cabinet berths. The formation will be supported by the Congress from outside, it has been suggested.
Though the Congress and the NCP have publicly denied any such move, insiders said both parties may agree to support the Sena to keep the BJP at bay.
Congress state president Balasaheb Thorat was rather cryptic in his response even as he seemed to deny there was any such move. "We have not had any word with the Shiv Sena. Everything depends on the party high command.
I don't have the authority to take such calls" said Thorat on Friday NCP MLA and spokesperson Nawab Malik echoed the same, saying, "The Shiv Sena is happy with the BJP in a grand alliance, hence there is no need to drag them to our side," stated Malik.
The buzz about a possible tie-up with the NCP started a day after Uddhav Thackeray stated that he was keeping all avenues open, if the BJP doesn't honour the 50-50 formula of power sharing. A strong indication of the thinking in the Sena camp was given by its editorial in Saamna, the Sena mouthpiece, where it has praised Sharad Pawar for winning the political dangal.
Sanjay Raut is known to be a bridge between the Sena and the NCP. In another strong hint of what was brewing between the NCP and the Sena, Raut tweeted a cartoon which shows a tiger wearing a locket with a clock – the NCP’s symbol -- around its neck.
It is also sniffing a lotus – the BJP’s mascot. But, as a political wag remarked, the tiger is more likely to discard the lotus once it is over with the sniffing.
For the record, Shiv Sena has 56 seats and the NCP has 54. The outside support from the Congress (44 seats) will bring the tally to 150; the magic number required is 145.
Though Uddhav Thackeray is keen not to overplay its hand, his wife Rashmi, who plays a key role in finalising the Sena's political strategy, is strongly in favour of getting her son appointed as the chief minister. "She has a very fervent desire to stay in at the CM’s bungalow Varsha," an insider in the Sena said.
Even if the Shiv Sena succeeds in securing the CM’s post in alliance with the BJP or the NCP, Uddhav may not appoint Aaditya as CM, feel some insiders. Uddhav has remarked in the distant past that Aaditya needs some more time to groom and learn the nuances of politics and governance.
His first choice would be Subhash Desai, a Thackeray family loyalist, these sources said.
It was Desai who played a key role in negotiating the distribution of seats with the BJP. But Sena legislators are strongly opposing his name. A few legislators even met Thackeray on Friday and requested him to nominate Eknath Shinde for the CM’s post.
Even if the Sena accepts the deputy chief minister’s post, then, too, Shinde should be the choice. Desai, it is pointed out, does not entertain legislators and help them out.
On the other hand, Shinde is a shrewd mass leader and a Maratha. This will help the party strengthen its base in the state and be in readiness for the BMC election scheduled to be held in 2022, said a Sena legislator after the meeting.
