Maharashtra buzzes again: Why did Devendra Fadnavis meet Raj Thackeray, Sena (UBT) leaders?

Fadnavis’s overtures are also being read in the context of the coming elections to the BMC, which is the final frontier for the BJP to establish itself as the preeminent party in Maharashtra. As long as the Sena was united, the cash-rich Mumbai municipal corporation was its bastion. Already, parties in both the Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi coalitions have indicated that they may contest the civic elections separately.

Sources close to Fadnavis said that it was a subtle message by the CM to ally Shinde to fall in line, by way of suggesting that there were options before the BJP.

While both Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray insisted their meeting was a “courtesy call”, with the BJP leader saying he had promised the visit when the MNS chief congratulated him following the Assembly poll win, it’s not every day that the CM goes calling on a leader.

Plus, though Fadnavis said that Raj Thackeray had congratulated him over the Assembly win, in a public statement, the MNS chief had questioned the credibility of the BJP’s landslide win. “There was disbelief when the results came out. Even an RSS leader I know remarked on this,” he said.

The MNS has not much standing left as a party on its own, being on a steady decline since its formation in 2005. It did not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, in which it had an understanding with the BJP, and in the recent Assembly elections, Raj Thackeray’s son Amit lost from Mahim in his poll debut.

However, the MNS chief continues to have personal appeal, especially in the Mumbai area, going back to his days with the united Shiv Sena. This makes him valuable for the BJP for the BMC polls.

The MNS, for its part, has an axe to grind with the Shinde Sena, as it believes that the refusal of Shinde Sena candidate Sada Sarvankar to pull out of the Mahim race caused Amit Thackeray’s defeat, allowing the Sena (UBT)’s Mahesh Sawant to slip past and win.

Sources said that the Mahim election figured in the talks between Fadnavis and Raj Thackeray, and that the BJP may offer Amit Thackeray a Legislative Council seat to seal a tactical understanding for the BMC polls.

As for Fadnavis’s meeting with Sena (UBT) leaders Milind Narwekar, former minister Subash Desai, and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, it was officially related to a memorial for the late Bal Thackeray. However, the timing had people searching for reasons as the meeting at Fadnavis’s residence came hours after a letter from Industries Minister and Shinde Sena leader Uday Samant instructing officials in his department to not take decisions without his knowledge became public.

It was seen as another manoeuvre in the game of one-upmanship between the BJP and Shinde Sena since the formation of the Mahayuti government. Starting with his long-drawn resistance before conceding the CM post to Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde has made his displeasure evident over several issues.

A Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojna, offering free trips to pilgrimage sites to the elderly, announced by Shinde when he was CM, appears to have been halted. Another scheme started in that time, Anandacha Siddha, for distribution of grocery items at cheaper rates during festivals, may have been put on the backburner.

While Shinde has maintained a studied silence, he has missed Cabinet meetings twice in the last fortnight and skipped the pre-Budget discussions Monday.

On Tuesday, Shinde was inducted into the State Disaster Management Committee, days after he was controversially kept out of the panel in which Ajit Pawar along with other core ministers representing portfolios such as Revenue and Health found a place.

Transport Minister and Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik, who was himself recently overridden by Fadnavis in the appointment of the Transport Secretary, said the party was not disturbed by Fadnavis’s meetings. “What is wrong if leaders from ideologically different parties meet? It is a tradition in Maharashtra,” he said.