The strained relations between the ruling saffron alliance partners eased quite a bit on Monday, as Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP not only shared a public platform but also praised each other profusely on the issues of the enactment of Maratha reservation law and the former’s recent visit to Ayodhya.
In a development that ignited the speculation that the the BJP's long-standing electoral ally Shiv Sena might reconsider its much-publicised stand of going it alone in all polls in future, Uddhav and Fadnavis came together at an official function organised to perform a bhoomi puja for various development works undertaken in the vicinity of the Bhanjara community-managed Sant Sevalal temple at Washim in eastern Maharashtra.
At a function where State Child Welfare Minister and late senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s daughter Pankaja Munde was also present, Fadnavis set the ball rolling by heaping praise on Uddhav’s recent visit to Ayodhya and said that the Sena president could now expect blessings from Lord Rama.
Uddhav was also all praise for Fadnavis for coming out the Maratha reservation bill and ensuring its passage in both the Houses of the Maharashtra Legislature.
What was more significant was that ignoring the protocol, Chief Minister Fadnavis and Uddhav travelled in the former’s official car to the venue of the function.
In his speech at the function, Fadnavis said that the Maharashtra government was committed to solving all the issues of Bhanjara community members. He announced that the state government would set up a memorial of international standard for Sant Sevalal Maharaj and would soon make an allocation of Rs 100 crore for the purpose.
“Every community has a right to live honourably. The Bhanjara community is known for its struggles. If we give educational facilities to this community, it will prove to be a pillar for the country. Sant Sevalal Mahajar belonged to not just the country but the entire world,” Uddhav said.
More than the import of the function, what has assumed political significance is the coming together of Fadnavis and Uddhav on a public platform in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
Notwithstanding the fact that they are the ruling coalition partners in the State and that the Sena is a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, Monday’s development should be seen in the context of the continued strains in the relations between the two saffron parties during the last four and four and a half years.
The relations between the two parties reached a flash point on January 23 this year, when the Shiv Sena decided at its national executive committee meeting that it would have no electoral tie-up with the BJP and would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha and State Assembly polls on its own strength. Uddhav and Sena leaders have for the past four years never lost any opportunity to have a dig at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on issues of public importance.
On its part, the BJP has all along held out an olive branch to the Sena leadership. On June 18 last year, BJP national president Amit Shah met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and sought the Sena’s support for his party’s nominee in the impending presidential polls.
On his part, Fadnavis made it a point to keep the Sena leadership in good humour. In one of the recent instances, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – under the advice from the Maharashtra Government – handed over the documents of the bungalow of Mumbai Mayor at Shivaji Park in north-central Mumbai to theBalasaheb Thackeray Memorial Public Trust (BTMPT) for the construction of a memorial for late Thackeray.
Built in 1928 in an area spread over four acres of land, the mayor’s bungalow was proposed in 2016 as a site for late Thackeray’s memorial. The bungalow plot admeasuring 11,500 sq metre, has been given to the BTMPT at a nominal lease of Rs 1 per annum for 30 years.
In the second recent instance of largesse given to the Shiv Sena, Fadnavis appointed two Sena men—Vijay Nahata, Uday Samant and Vinod Ghosalkar — as the chairmen of the two crucial State-run bodies — Mumbai Slum Improvement Board, Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority and Mumbai Repair Board respectively.
With the possibility of Ram Mandir being built at Ayodhya in the near future becoming brighter, the signals emanating from “Matoshri”, the Mumbai residence of Thackerays, suggest that the Sena president is softening his towards the BJP. This is notwithstanding his public criticism of the BJP and Modi for the delay in the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya. Uddhav realises that if there is progress in the Ram Mandir construction front ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the move is bound to benefit the ruling BJP to a large extent and also the Shiv Sena, if it continues to be in alliance with the Amit Shah-led party.
Secondly the Maratha reservation law enacted by the Devendra Fadnavis-led Government has changed the dynamics of the relations between the BJP and Shiv Sena. Uddhav knows full well that it would be politically suicidal for the Sena to severe its electoral ties with the BJP at this stage. For, if it does, the Sena would lose out on the political dividends that it would gain in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and State Assembly polls.
With the stage having been set for reconciliation between the two parties, it remains to be seen as to when the Shiv Sena will make amends and announce its decision to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha and State Assembly polls as an alliance.