After the October 2019 assembly elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine secured a comfortable majority. However, the saffron combine could not form the government because of differences over the issue of chief ministership. The BJP insisted on having its CM since it had more MLAs. Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, however, claimed that its ally had promised the CM's post to him. Uddhav pulled out of the alliance and joined hands with Sharad Pawar's NCP to form the MVA government with himself as the CM. Then and there the BJP's central leadership and ex-chief minister Devendra Fadnavis decided to pull down the MVA coalition and politically finish the Shiv Sena. The arrest of Uddhav's motormouth M.P. Sanjay Raut, arrest of NCP leaders Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik, and ED raids on the premises of Uddhav's brother in law etc were a part of the BJP's Operation Lotus.
๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ต๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐
The BJP tasked the erstwhile governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to place one hurdle after another in Uddhav's path. The piece de resistance of this operation was to get Eknath Shinde and 39 of his MLAs to move out of the Shiv Sena. Even as Uddhav was sleeping, several of his MLAs flew out of the state only to return a few days later to form the government with the BJP. The recent order of the Election Commission granting recognition to the Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena and the allotment of the Bow & Arrow symbol to it allegedly at the behest of the BJP gave a body to blow to Uddhav Thackeray and his faction.
๐จ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐: ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฃ
The question being asked in political circles is whether Uddhav will be able to counter the powerful assault mounted by the BJP on his party. His party insiders say that Uddhav, for all his soft demeanour, is a man made of steel. "He is best when under pressure despite the heart surgery he underwent in 2012. He has as many as eight stents in his heart, but that has not deterred him from working hard for the party," a Sena M.P. noted. "He is after all Balasaheb's son," he added.
๐ฆ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐จ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐
And Uddhav is being helped majorly by his son Aditya, who has politically matured big time after his stint as a minister in the MVA government. Many bureaucrats of Mantralaya are highly impressed by Aditya's quick grasp of complex issues and his ability to articulate matters. His recent tours of the interiors of Maharashtras were also huge successes. Eknath Shinde may have the backing of a majority of MLAs and MPs, but the party organisation and its front bodies like the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, Sthanik Lokadhikar Samiti etc are more or less with Uddhav. The Yuva Sena, which is helmed by Aditya, is also in tact in almost all the districts of the state. As for funds, Uddhav's supporters have transferred most of it from the Shiv Sena to other accounts. The party headquarters, Sena Bhavan, at Dadar is under a trust controlled by Uddhav, so there is no question of Shinde's supporters occupying it.
๐๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐๐บ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐จ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฎ๐
Udhav's allies like Sharad Pawar and Nata Patole of the Congress are closely watching these developments.
The litmus test will be the upcoming BMC elections which may be held in April. The Sena led by Bal Thackeray started its electoral politics in the BMC. Now it will be required to prove itself all over again in the civic polls in the face of a vicious campaign mounted by a cash-rich BJP, which wants to control the civic body with an annual budget of over Rs 50,000 cr.
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