Opinion Express View: Game of thrones

On Sunday, mere months after it split the Shiv Sena to pull down the Maha Vikas Aghadi ministry in Mumbai, the BJP shored up its own government by weaning away a significant section of the NCP. It may not be incidental that four of the nine NCP MLAs who were sworn in as cabinet ministers on Sunday face a probe either by the Enforcement Directorate or the Anti Corruption Bureau. In the all too recent past, the BJP alleged that some of these MLAs, prominent among them Ajit Pawar, who has now been sworn in as deputy chief minister, are symbols of corrupt and dynastic politics. The next act in this cynical drama is foretold: Now that they are in the BJP, these leaders will be magically cleansed of the corruption taint. This, after all, is what has happened with several politicians from non-BJP parties in West Bengal and Assam and other states whose cases were pushed to the backburner after they joined the BJP. The unseemly goings-on in Mumbai underline a dismal pattern — of the BJP using not so fair means to improve its numbers in states where it does not have a clear mandate, including by selectively deploying central agencies to target its political opponents. In the past few years, the BJP has deservedly invited accusations of engineering defections and splits to form governments in states including Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, after it failed to win the election.

In Maharashtra, the BJP has been looking for ways to tighten its grip ever since the 2019 election, in which it did not win the mandate on its own. Initially, the party seemed outsmarted by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, who stitched together an unlikely alliance — the Maha Vikas Aghadi — with long-term BJP ally, Shiv Sena, and the Congress, by offering Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray the CM’s office. The BJP’s attempt to force a split in the NCP by roping in Ajit Pawar ended in embarrassment. However, the party succeeded in splitting the Sena and forming a government with rebel Sena leader, Eknath Shinde, as chief minister. The defections from the NCP now may further strengthen the hold of the Shinde-BJP government, if the Ajit Pawar-led faction passes the anti-defection law test. Pawar has said that the NCP will not challenge the defections legally, but will seek endorsement in the people’s court. The Maharashtra churn is likely to continue at least until the general election. The coming days will test the mettle of a host of political actors including CM Shinde and his two deputies, Ajit Pawar and Fadnavis, and Uddhav Thackeray. On test, too, will be the tactical nous and mobilisational skills of Sharad Pawar, a past master at splitting and merging parties and forging coalitions.

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The events in Maharashtra could also be a setback for the Opposition, which has been trying to build a united front against the BJP ahead of 2024. Sharad Pawar, a prime mover of the unity efforts, stands diminished, for now, as his own close associates change sides. While Maharashtra debunks the BJP’s self-righteous rhetoric on corruption, and raises questions about its willingness to bend the rules of the game, it also punches a hole in the viability of the Opposition front-to-be.