Maharashtra BJP calls meeting with allies to discuss 2024 polls

The list of smaller parties supporting the NDA in Maharashtra is small. After the 2019 polls, the Shiv Sena (then undivided and led by Uddhav Thackeray) had severed ties with the BJP and walked out of the NDA. Now, Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) is part of the MVA.

BJP’s biggest ally is the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, with 40 MLAs. The smaller partners include the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), Prahar Janshakti Party, Shiv Sangram and Republican Party of India (RPI).

The Opposition meet held in Patna on Friday saw the BJP closely monitoring the political developments. “We are putting our plans in place. Our main task is to reach out to every household, which we have already started. The BJP is committed to take all its allies together. And we will resolve all issues within the NDA through mutual dialogue,” Bawankule said.

Unlike 2014 and 2019, the BJP’s relations with its smaller allies are not on a strong footing. Last week, fissures in the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance were exposed following the row over an advertisement, which appeared in several newspapers and projected Shinde as more popular than Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. According to the ad, while Shinde polled 26.1 per cent, Fadnavis was favoured by 23.4 per cent. Moreover, the ad, which had the slogan ‘Narendra Modi in Delhi, Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra’, did not have any picture of Fadnavis. The political ramifications were evident with Fadnavis calling off all scheduled public meetings with Shinde for two days and the central BJP leadership intervened to resolve the matter. In a damage-control exercise, Shinde issued another ad showing him and Fadnavis together.

In this backdrop, Monday’s meeting is a concerted attempt by the BJP to set aside differences and move forward keeping 2024 in mind.

Bawankule has plenty of problems on his plate. Apart from making the Shiv Sena and BJP work together as a team at the grassroots, the party has to address the aspirations of smaller partners too.

RSP president Mahadeo Jankar said, “We are with the NDA. But we want the BJP to give us our due.” Jankar has demanded four Lok Sabha seats — Baramati, Mahad, Parbhani and Sangli. The RSP leader has support among the Dhangar community (shepherds) in parts of western and north Maharashtra. In 2019, the RSP won just one Assembly seat.

Similarly, the other alliance partner, RPI, had no presence in the State Legislative Assembly and the Lok Sabha. RPI president Ramdas Athavale, who was appointed from the BJP to the Rajya Sabha, is the Union Minister of State for Social Justice. The RPI has sizeable following among the Dailts in Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sangram is also an important ally of the BJP in select constituencies in the Marathwada region. The Vinay Kore-led Jan Surajya Shakti has been with the NDA in 2014 and 2019. The BJP will ensure not to lose any of its allies.

The Prahar Janshakti Party led by Bacchu Kadu, who has pledged support to the NDA, has two MLAs. However, Kadu has been speaking harshly against the BJP for its failure to expand the cabinet. He has also attacked the ruling BJP’s policies.

A senior BJP general secretary said, “Coalition politics is a reality. And we cannot afford to lose any ally. Every small partner, caste and community is important to strengthen the NDA.”

The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, which was in the NDA between 2014 and 2018, has announced it will contest the elections alone. Post 2019 polls, the party led by Raju Shetti supported the MVA. But it has distanced itself from the MVA too. “We will go alone. We will fight for farmer rights,” Shetti said. The party has one MLA in the Assembly.

From the homepage

Amit Shah’s deadline to end Naxalism looming, Maoists make a request: Give time till Feb 15 

As new labour codes spark a row, a look at rise and fall of trade unions in India

‘One of them even said I should get a Chinese passport…mocked me’: Woman ‘held up at Shanghai airport’ over Arunachal mention in passport