After Mamata Banerjee, Kejriwal reaches out to Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar to rally support against Delhi ordinance

Kejriwal who has been at loggerheads with the BJP-led central government, had got the support from Thackeray’s and Pawar’s parties in the past when AAP leader and former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia was arrested and imprisoned on charges of financial irregularities.

Kejriwal becomes the rallying force for all regional parties who are fighting BJP both at the Centre and at the state level.

Maharashtra has a total share of 19 Rajya Sabha seats – of which eight are represented by the BJP, four by NCP, three by Congress, three by Shiv Sena (UBT) three, and one by RPI(A).

In the Rajya Sabha, where each member’s support is crucial to show the Opposition’s might, Kejriwal wants to get to his side both Thackeray’s and Pawar’s support in the fight against the Centre’s ordinance.

However, the BJP with 93 MPs remains the leading party in the Rajya Sabha. It is hopeful Kejriwal will not be able to muster the requisite support required to defeat the legislation in the Upper House.

“This is not the first time PM Modi has faced such an opposition. There have been several such attempts in the past to defeat BJP-mooted bills in Parliament,” said a senior BJP functionary.

The state Congress’ Nana Patole has indicated that it will go by whatever decision AICC takes in this regard as it comes under the Centre’s jurisdiction. The Congress, with 31 MPs, constitutes the highest number amongst the Opposition parties.

Before heading for Maharashtra, Kejriwal had met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. Both pledged support to Kejriwal.

Kejriwal’s attempt to reach out to regional forces, including Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP in Maharashtra, comes at a time when the BJP-led Central government is increasingly trying to assert its power to control states.

Thackeray and Pawar are upset as several key leaders of their parties have been subjected to notices from the Central agencies on charges of financial irregularities and violation of laid norms.

In one of the instances, state NCP chief and former minister Jayant Patil was summoned and interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday for nine hours in its office in Mumbai in a money laundering case involving Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS). Upset NCP workers shouted anti-BJP slogans and held a demonstration outside party headquarters to express solidarity with their party chief. Earlier, NCP’s former home minister Anil Deshmukh was charged with corruption and jailed for a year. Another former minister of the party Nawab Malik is still serving imprisonment in a money laundering case. “By now it is known how the BJP has misused its central agencies to harass opponents,” NCP president Sharad Pawar had said.

Saamana, the mouthpiece of Shiv Sena (UBT), went on to claim that the BJP wanted Jayant Patil to join their party. “When Patil rejected the offer he had to face ED,” it stated.

Thackeray has indicated he is willing to join hands with those who are fighting against the BJP. Uddhav Thackeray’s anger against its estranged alliance partner rose after ‘Operation Lotus’ carried out by the BJP in June 2022 that not only brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government but also split the Shiv Sena. Badly wounded by the split in the party, Thackeray has pledged to fight the BJP on every possible forum.

“Their politics is dangerous. It is a threat to democracy. They blatantly misuse power and institutions to harass political rivals,” Thackeray has said. “Look at how the Election Commission of India handed over the Shiv Sena party title and symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the Eknath Shinde faction! It was unethical and wrong,” he remarked.

Pawar himself has given a clarion call to all political parties in Maharashtra to put up a united front under the MVA to fight the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.