Rumblings have begun within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) after its humiliating defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena coming under increasing pressure from its leaders to leave the alliance.
Majority of the 20 Sena (UBT) MLAs reportedly urged this at a meeting held by Thackeray on Monday, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said the grassroots cadre of the Sena (UBT), which was completely overshadowed by the Eknath Shinde Sena’s 57-seat tally in the Assembly elections, is questioning the “effectiveness” of the MVA.
However, sources said, Thackeray as well as other senior party leaders such as Aaditya Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut are keen on maintaining the alliance to “present a united opposition against the BJP”.
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“Many of our MLAs feel it is time for the Shiv Sena (UBT) to forge an independent path, contest elections on its own, and not depend on any alliance. The Shiv Sena was never meant to chase power… It (power) will come naturally when we remain steadfast in our ideology,” said Ambadas Danve, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
The move to go independent would help the Shiv Sena (UBT) “build on its foundation”, Danve added.
Since Eknath Shinde took away most of the Sena’s MLAs and MPs in the split in the party in 2022, the party leaders have accused the Sena (UBT) of “betraying” the ideology of founder Bal Thackeray and Hindutva by joining hands with the Congress. The Sena (UBT) has had a series of setbacks in the factional fight since, including the loss of the symbol and the name of the party to the Shinde side.
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The recent Assembly poll results were the biggest blow, with the entire MVA’s 46-seat tally (including the Sena-UBT’s 20, the Congress’s 16 and NCP-SP’s 10) lesser than the Shinde Sena’s numbers. The Sena (UBT) got 9.96% of the votes, about 3% behind the Shinde Sena.
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This was a huge decline from the Lok Sabha results six months ago when the Sena (UBT) got 16.72% of the votes.
Now Sena (UBT) leaders feel that leaving the MVA and going solo is the only way for the party to reconnect with its base, and prevent it from further shifting to the Shinde Sena.
“The Sena has always promoted Marathi regionalism and Hindutva… The Congress and NCP have a more secular and socialist orientation. Given the BJP’s resounding success, which many attribute to the consolidation of Hindu votes, there is growing concern within the Sena (UBT) about the dilution of its Hindutva leanings to accommodate the Congress and NCP,” said a Sena (UBT) candidate who lost in the recent elections.
Party leaders are concerned that the BJP’s narrative that the Sena (UBT) is “pandering to Muslims and betraying its Hindutva roots” may be winning.
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“Securing Muslim votes is beneficial, but if those votes drive away other supporters, their value becomes questionable,” a Sena (UBT) leader from Nashik Central said.
The Sena (UBT) candidate who lost claimed that many party cadre are “even questioning their allegiance to Thackeray after such a resounding defeat”. While in the 2022 split, most of the Sena top brass had gone with Shinde, the cadre were believed to still be loyal to Thackeray.
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Post-polls, many Sena (UBT) leaders are also speaking out about “the lack of unity within the MVA”, citing issues such as the delay in announcing the seat-sharing arrangement and instances of the Congress backing Independents instead of Sena (UBT) candidates in some seats. Solapur South is a prime example, where Congress MP Praniti Shinde declared support for a rebel party candidate right on voting day, though the MVA candidate there was a Sena (UBT) leader.
A Sena (UBT) leader said that there were inherent contradictions within the MVA. “It is a partnership formed to oppose the BJP and Shinde Sena, but it’s not a naturally cohesive alliance,” the leader pointed out.
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The MVA was forged following the 2019 results after the then united Shiv Sena pulled out of its partnership with the BJP over the question of chief ministership. Thackeray then joined hands with the then united NCP and Congress to form the MVA government. It fell in 2022 after Shinde engineered a split in the Sena. A year later, Ajit Pawar brought about a split in the NCP.
