6 min readMumbaiMar 18, 2024 07:44 AM IST
First published on: Mar 18, 2024 at 07:24 AM IST
Twenty-four hours after the Lok Sabha election schedule was announced, Mumbai became the site of the battleground between INDIA versus the NDA as Rahul Gandhi wrapped up his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
The Congress leader’s final day was dotted with symbolism, starting from Mani Bhavan, Mahatma Gandhi’s long-time headquarters in then Bombay, and ending at Chaitya Bhoomi, the cremation site of Dr B R Ambedkar. Rahul skipped the Vinayak Damodar Memorial opposite Chaitya Bhoomi, but visited the Bal Thackeray Memorial next door after the BJP tried to put Rahul ally Uddhav Thackeray in a spot over it.
While the BJP seized on Rahul’s decision to not visit the Savarkar memorial to attack Congress ally Shiv Sena (UBT), questioning his commitment to Hindutva, the day belonged to INDIA for once, with its partners rallying around the coalition that has been sputtering its way to takeoff. It will also go some distance towards countering the impression that the Congress kept INDIA allies out of Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray was a prominent presence at the dais with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, apart from other senior Congress leaders, at Sunday evening’s rally held at Shivaji Park – a ground that holds much significance for the Shiv Sena – to mark the formal conclusion of the Yatra.
Also present was the other main Congress ally in the state, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), as well as its INDIA partners DMK, National Conference, Aam Aadmi Party and RJD. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav sent a letter expressing his support.
In speech after speech, the INDIA partners resolved to evolve a common minimum programme to fight the Narendra Modi-led BJP, accusing it of “dictatorship”, “communalism” and “corruption”.
That the BJP was paying attention was clear from the focus it devoted to the rally. Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule posted an old video clip of the late Bal Thackeray, in which he is heard saying, “If such a situation arises where the Shiv Sena has to go with the Congress, I would rather shut down my organisation.”
“We are not attributing anything to Uddhav Thackeray,” Bawankule added. “We are just reminding him what Bal Thackeray said about (his) unholy alliance with the Congress… The Sena (UBT) already compromised its Hindutva ideology in 2019 by joining hands with the Congress and NCP for power. Now, it is ready to compromise its stand on freedom fighter Veer Savarkar…”
However, this line of attack is unlikely to cut much ice, given that Uddhav’s alliance with the Congress-NCP now carries the patina of four years, and that many Sena loyalists still swear by him rather than the Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde, seen as the BJP’s creation. Plus, old-timers still remember that Bal Thackeray himself had supported Congress PM Indira Gandhi’s Emergency move in 1975.
The hope in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ranks now will be that the euphoria of Sunday’s rally will be the glue that will paper over the strains of seat-sharing. With Rahul drawing good crowds in Maharashtra, a state where the battle is still far from decided in the NDA’s favour, the Congress will bank on it for a better deal for the party – particularly when on the other side of the table are heavyweights such as Uddhav and Sharad Pawar. The Yatra is also seen to have generated a buzz for the Congress among its traditional Muslim and Dalit vote banks.
Noted Dalit writer Arjun Dangle is among those who believes this is the case. “There is a strong perception among Ambedkarites that the BJP will undermine the Constitution if it returns to power. This time it will be reflected in the voting, with a sizeable number of Dalits shifting away from the BJP,” he said.
A senior leader aligned with the BJP admitted that the party remains unsure of the Maharashtra scene: “Although we split the Shiv Sena and NCP, it is difficult to ascertain its benefits electorally.” Like Uddhav, Sharad Pawar can expect to get some sympathy vote for the BJP’s hand in breaking the NCP, a party that he nurtured through long, hard years, at a time when he is in his twilight.
Any Maharashtra predictions have also been rendered difficult due to the Maratha reservation move, with no one sure whether the OBCs have been suitably placated.
On Sunday, as INDIA prepared for its unity show, the BJP dispatched former CM and Congress-turned-BJP Maratha leader Ashok Chavan to meet Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who keeps making threats of renewing his agitation.
Senior BJP leader and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis told The Indian Express: “We are confident that the people’s mandate will be for PM Narendra Modi… Fissures within the INDIA bloc or the MVA are inevitable.”
But at least on Sunday evening, as dark descended on Shivaji Park, INDIA showed a spark – enough to cast a little shadow over the BJP’s target of 45-plus seats out of the total 48.
In speech after speech, the INDIA partners resolved to evolve a common minimum programme to fight the Narendra Modi-led BJP, accusing it of “dictatorship”, “communalism” and “corruption”. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty) 
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