Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari’s meeting with MNS chief Raj Thackeray has stirred a hornet’s nest within the “Maha-Yuti”, with the Shiv Sena virtually accusing Gadkari of working at cross purposes with the BJP-led Opposition’s five-party grand alliance in Maharashtra ahead of the lok Sabha polls.
After Gadkari held a luncheon meeting with Raj on Monday, ostensibly to request the latter not to put up candidates against the BJP-led “Maha-Yuti” to avoid division of Opposition votes, the Shiv Sena sent out a strong message to its long-time alliance partner, BJP, that it had not taken kindly to the BJP leader’s act of cosying up to or speaking up for either the MNS chief or NCP president Sharad Pawar.
In his couched words, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray disapproved Gadkari’s meeting with the MNS chief and said, “It (Gadkari’s meeting with Raj) is an internal issue of the BJP. But the meeting definitely reflects a communication gap prevailing within the BJP. What Nitin (Gadkari) wants to do, he has to decide at a personal level. As a “Maha-Yuti” (grand alliance), our commitment is to defeat the Congress-led coalition in the State and at the Centre. But one thing is certain that the people are so fed up with the ruling coalition, they will teach a lesson to anyone who speaks up for the Congress or NCP directly or indirectly”.
However, Sanjay Raut was more direct when he spoke to media persons on Tuesday, “If any BJP leader meets up or praises either Raj or the NCP chief, such an act would not only create confusion among people but would also affect the chances of the Opposition’s grand alliance in the lok Sabha polls”. Raut, however, said that the Shiv Sena had firm hold over the Marathi voters in the state and no one would be able to trigger a division in the Maharashtrian vote bank.
“Marathi votes will continue to remain with Shiv Sena only. Nobody can dare trigger a division in Marathi votes,” the Sena spokesperson said, as he dismissed Gadkari’s apprehension that the presence of the MNS candidates in the poll fray would contribute to the division of Marathi votes as happened in the 2009 lok Sabha polls. “The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance will defeat the Congress-NCP alliance and would win as many as 40 seats out of the total 48 lok Sabha in Maharashtra,” Raut claimed.
Raut said that the MNS was not welcome to the “Maha-Yuti” (Opposition grand alliance)—which comprises Shiv Sena, BJP, RPI (A), Raju Shetty-led SSS and the Mahadeo Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. “We do not need the MNS in Maha-yuti,” he said. Hours after Gadkari had met the MNS chief at a city hotel on Monday afternoon, Uddhav had gone to town expressing his disapproval over the BJP leader’s act. So much so that State BJP president Devendra Fadnavis met Uddhav at the latter’s residence late on Monday night and reportedly clarified the party’s stand on Gadkari’s meeting with Raj.
Earlier on Monday evening, Gadkari had said that he had met Raj to request the latter not out to put up the MNS candidates against the “Maha-Yuti” (grand alliance) as it would contribute to the division of the Opposition votes –a prospect that would affect the electoral prospects of the BJP-led NDA in the lok Sabha polls, In effect, Gadkari had reportedly suggested to the MNS chief to skip the lok Sabha polls in the overall interest of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre.
Though Raj chief has chosen to remain silent on what transpired during his meeting with Gadkari on Monday, it is quite unlikely that the MNS chief will toe the Gadkari line. This is because, the MNS does not stand to gain anything by skipping the lok Sabha polls. Informed sources in the MNS said that the party would be keen to contest the lok Sabha polls for three reasons: First, the party would be able to win one or two seats in the polls. Secondly, the polls would give Raj an idea as to the current popularity of the MNS among the people in the state. Thirdly, the MNS chief would be able to activate party cadres ahead of the crucial State Assembly polls.