The NCP leader and the Sena have claimed something that matters beyond numbers, Marathi pride
They say Maratha pride determines everything in Maharashtra and dominates the social, economic, political and popular spaces in equal measure. And so it is that the government formation in the State is pivoted around the primacy accorded to a certain Maratha consciousness, egoism and parochialism. So much so that identity is now forcing a political crisis in a State that has a valid electoral verdict, in fact, even overriding it, and has crystallised around the candidacy of young Aditya Thackeray, a Sainik — no less a grandson of Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray — and born of the soil, for chief ministership. The BJP and Shiv Sena have fought the Assembly elections as pre-poll allies and even won comfortably, if not as a landslide. But rulebook is secondary to perceptions now. With the BJP weakened by a lesser number of seats on its own (105), the Shiv Sena, too tired of being relegated to the second spot on home ground, is insisting on rotational chief ministership. So what should have been a consensus is now an open war. The BJP, which has delivered stable governance and managed local issues with a non-Maratha Chief Minister in Devendra Fadnavis, may have a creditable performance to bank on. However, unlike 2014, when it ran a minority government with the support of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, it now needs the Sena (with 56 seats and seven Independents) for a stable run. In its zeal to retain the State, the BJP leadership may have pledged accommodating the Sena’s interests before the polls. The latter, too, may have been vague about its wins and the popular acceptance of Thackeray scion Aditya in electoral politics. But now that the tables have turned, the Sena is insisting that he be not just a deputy Chief Minister but get the office for half the tenure. It doesn’t matter that he is a greenhorn in politics, with some interest in biodiversity, poetry and nightlife, but Marathi enough to qualify for the chair.
Of course, the real puppeteer in this drama is Sharad Pawar himself, who has shown why he is not just the baron of Baramati but capable enough to hold court and challenge Delhi. He may have helped the BJP in 2014 for his survival. But with a doggedness of purpose, has trumped it for overreaching itself and underestimating him. The BJP poached his long-term supporter and a descendant of Shivaji, Udayanraje Bhosale, and wanted to finish the NCP by sending probe agencies on the tail of his family. But as he thundered in Marathi through blinding rain in Satara, it was enough to defeat Bhosale and reanoint himself as Shivaji’s true legacy keeper in a seat whose symbolism is unmistakable among Marathi manoos. Not only that, he has won more seats than last time, 54 of them, trouncing the Congress and proving why he doesn’t need to take orders from the Delhi durbar, be it from his national ally or the ruling BJP. He can now afford to act regal, reminding the BJP to shed arrogance and form an accommodative government respecting the verdict, be moral in its choice and to add fuel to the fire, wondering why young Aditya shouldn’t be a candidate for chief ministership. He further strengthened the Maratha plank by meeting Shiv Sena leaders, sparking off rumours about an alternative coalition government with the Congress-NCP backing. While there is talk of Pawar meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, Maharashtra Congress leader Hussain Dalwai has written to her already, requesting her to support a Sena coalition should it come up with such a proposal. The Sena lost no time in welcoming Dalwai’s stand and reminded everybody how it had supported the Congress during election of its nominees like Pratibha Patil and later Pranab Mukherjee for President. For Pawar, the Sena is a better option than supporting the BJP given the current context. The Congress will have issues about supporting the Sena though, given the latter’s visceral link with the saffron brigade. So this is just arithmetic rather than chemistry and an elaborate counter-weight to dilute the BJP’s persistence. The Sena-Pawar power play is also an attempt to make the BJP look more arrogant than it is in the State. This could turn problematic in day-to-day governance even if the BJP does give in to the Sena in the name of honouring Marathi pride.