Days after civic election results across Maharashtra, politics is in churn and expectedly so. Alliances are showing cracks. Fair to say that the manoeuvring has already begun.
The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) is the flashpoint, according to media reports.
Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has extended support to the Shiv Sena there. Meanwhile, the BJP and the Congress are trading barbs for trying to poach each other’s corporators.
From Kolhapur and Chandrapur to Malegaon, Ulhasnagar, KDMC and even the BMC, parties are in motion. Corporators are being courted. Old rivals are finding common ground. Pressure tactics are being alleged. The numbers game is very much on.
In KDMC, the MNS move strengthens chief minister Eknath Shinde’s push for a majority. It has also dealt a blow to the newly announced understanding between Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray. Equations are clearly shifting.
Uddhav Thackeray faces more trouble. Four of Shiv Sena (UBT)’s 11 corporators in KDMC are currently untraceable, according to reports.
Hours later, the party announced the return of Sarita Mhaske, a newly elected Mumbai corporator who had been incommunicado amid speculation that she was rejoining the Shinde-led Sena.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said he had spoken to Raj Thackeray on the KDMC developments. Raut said Raj Thackeray was upset and had conveyed that the decision was taken by local-level leaders and did not reflect the MNS party’s stand. The damage control began early.
Shinde’s attempt to secure control in Kalyan could also strain ties between the Shiv Sena and the BJP. Though they fought the civic polls together, disputes have surfaced since. Friends on paper, rivals on the ground.
In Ulhasnagar, the Shinde Sena is also seeking a majority without BJP support. The two parties were not allies here. In the 78-member house, the BJP has 37 seats and the Shiv Sena 36. With the majority mark at 40, Shinde has secured the backing of three corporators (two from Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and one independent). Every seat now counts.
Chandrapur presents another battle. The Congress, the largest party with 27 seats, has accused the BJP, which has 23, of trying to cling to power by reaching out to independents, Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators and Congress members. A familiar charge, loudly repeated.
Senior BJP leader and former minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said several Congress corporators were in contact with the BJP. He said that since no party had a clear majority, the BJP had opened talks with other parties, adding that its goal was the city’s development. Talks behind closed doors, claims in public.
Both national parties are also battling internal rifts. The BJP is split between camps led by Mungantiwar and Kishore Jorgewar. The Congress is divided between factions led by Vijay Wadettiwar and MP Pratibha Dhanorkar. The fault lines have clearly deepened even as alliances wobbled.
Also Read: How Fadnavis’s Tactical Campaign Delivered BJP’s Maharashtra Sweep https://www.vibesofindia.com/how-fadnaviss-tactical-campaign-delivered-bjps-maharashtra-sweep/
