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The quicksand of Maharashtra politics shifted dramatically on Thursday evening with both the ruling coalition of the Congress-NCP as well as the Opposition BJP-Shiv Sena combine ending their alliances.
The incumbent NCP decided to withdraw from the Maharashtra Government, leaving the Congress with a minority in the State Legislature. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said his party had been neglected by the Congress.
Hence, he said, the NCP had decided to part ways and withdraw the support it has been providing the Congress-led Maharashtra Government.
Ajit Pawar added that a letter will soon be despatched to the Governor of Maharashtra withdrawing the NCP’s support.
This was soon after the BJP broke away from the Shiv Sena. The Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Eknath Khadse, said: “The BJP’s 25-year-old alliance with the Shiv Sena has been broken. We held several rounds of discussions with the Sena. It seems that while we in the BJP are trying to bring down the Congress-NCP Government, the Shiv Sena’s primary motive is to demand more seats.”
Khadse said while the Sena has exited, the Mahayuti , this is, the “Grand Alliance” of the BJP with other smaller parties — farmer leader Raju Shetty’s Swabhiman Shetkari Sangathana, Vinayak Mete’s Shiv Sangram, and Mahadeo Jankar’s Rashtriya Samah Party — remains intact. He said the BJP is still negotiating with the Republican Party of India (A) of Ramdas Athawale.
“Once we have finalised our seat-sharing agreement with these parties, we will address a joint press conference. We will be the alternative political force in Maharashtra,” Khadse said.
Earlier, while talking to BusinessLine , BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy blamed the Sena for the break-up. “We have spent hours trying to convince the Shiv Sena. But there is a time constraint. Nominations need to be filed,” Rudy said.
Humiliated The announcement for the alliance break-up followed days of bickering over seat-sharing and chief ministerial post. On Thursday, BJP president Amit Shah’s cancellation of his scheduled trip to Mumbai was seen as the final indication of the BJP’s reluctance to engage with the Sena at the highest level.
From the Sena, the responses were sharp and bitter. Sena leader Diwakar Raote alleged that the BJP had humiliated the Sena.
“They kept us waiting for hours. The BJP is responsible for our break-up,” Raote said.
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