By Sushil Kutty
So a Sena advertisement claims Eknath Shinde is the first choice of the people of Maharashtra for Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis is nowhere in the picture. The Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister’s face didn’t show on the advertisements which did not forget Modi’s picture. Is this a sign of a “raging feud” between Shinde and Fadnavis? Could it be that Shinde is all set for revolt, a ‘gharwapsi’ of sorts though Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut nipped that likelihood in the bud saying the Shinde Sena was now the “Modi-Shah Shiv Sena.”
And Raut can be pure poison! That said, the Shinde-BJP shine seems to be wearing off. With assembly and Lok Sabha elections approaching Shinde is jockeying for pole position. The spell has broken. Some people are calling it a “raging feud”. But feuds by definition span generations. The Shinde-Fadnavis faceoff does not qualify. A potential feud cannot be ruled out between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, though. Both of them lay claim to the legacy of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. The Shinde advertisement, however, does not have Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray’s picture and that says Shiv Sena (UBT) is incriminating evidence that the Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena has lost its moral right to lay claim to the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray.
Back to the so-called feud, Eknath Shinde has been Maharashtra Chief Minister since June 22, 2022 and Devendra Fadnavis his deputy. For Shinde it was promotion – for Fadnavis, demotion! The confrontation was expected. Making Shinde Maharashtra Chief Minister had set the stage for a potential confrontation. And it appears the time has come. People see in the full-page adverts proof of the pudding. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stands taller than Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and that arrangement and assessment should remain.
Both Shinde and Fadnavis are jockeying for pole position. Fact is, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has nothing much to show for his tenure. And Fadnavis had. Devendra Fadnavis must be stewing seeing Shinde cozy up to Modi! No wonder Sanjay Raut wondered whether there is a Shiv Sena or has the Shinde Shiv Sena merged with the BJP? The Shinde Shiv Sena’s full-page adverts with the legend “Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra” banks on a survey that declares Shinde best-fit for state’s top post.
People reacted and Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was first by a mile and a half. He nicknamed the Shinde Shiv Sena the “Modi-Shah Shiv Sena”. The question now: Is the Sena (UBT) “jealous” of Shinde and Fadnavis “working like brothers”? The Sena’s bow-and-arrow election symbol is in the hands of the Shinde Sena. This could be one reason why Sanjay Raut could be “jealous”. The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi, of which Sena (UBT) is a constituent, says the BJP will make the “Modi-Shah Shiv Sena” beg for every assembly and Lok Sabha seat it will lay claim to.”
The survey to prop up Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over Devendra Fadnavis says “For the chief minister’s position, 26.1 percent of the people in Maharashtra want Eknath Shinde while 23.2 percent of the people want Devendra Fadnavis as the next Chief Minister.” If that isn’t a red rag to the bull in the arena, what is? If that isn’t a call for direct action, what is? If that isn’t a challenge to Devendra Fadnavis, what is? Fadnavis was Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019. Now, he’s being told Chief Minister Eknath Shinde cuts a far finer figure for Chief Minister and that nearly 50 percent of Maharashtra’s citizens want the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance to continue with CM Shinde!
The survey undertaken by a leading television channel lacks credibility because it had predicted a massive BJP victory in Karnataka and just yesterday (June 13) said that the BJP will conquer Madhya Pradesh hands down! The channel’s Maharashtra election survey said 30.2 percent of Maha citizens preferred Bharatiya Janata Party and 16.2 percent the Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde, i.e., 46.4 percent people favoured the BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance with a margin of error of three percent plus or minus.
All great sounding, but the full-page adverts screwed up Fadnavis’s happiness despite the BJP downplaying them. Maharashtra BJP Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule is perturbed. He says it’s “always the election result that decides which party or leader is more acceptable to the voters.” And just so that there were no doubts left, he said there shouldn’t be any confusion on which of the two – the Shiv Sena and BJP – was bigger! (IPA Service)