Taking advantage of strained relations prevailing between the ruling saffron alliance partners ahead of the BMC Mayoral polls, the Opposition Congress and NCP are planning to drive a wedge between the BJP and Shiv Sena further, by bringing in a no-confidence against the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra Government during the Budget session of the State legislature beginning on March 6.
It is a litmus test for Sena that is “trying” to .seek “outside” support to win the Mayoral polls.
Similarly, in twin developments that are bound to isolate the ruling BJP and help the Sena capture power in the BMC, the Opposition Congress, NCP, Samajwadi Party and MIM — which together have a collective strength of 48 seats in the newly elected BMC — are seriously considering putting up their own candidate in the Mayoral polls and the Raj Thackeray-led MNS has indicated that it might go with the Sena in the interest of Marathi people in the metropolis.
In the event of the Sena taking on the BJP in the Mayoral poll likely to be held on March 9, the Sena will in all likelihood win the poll either in a triangular contest forced by the Opposition Congress, NCP, SP and MIM or in a situation where the four parties choose to abstain from voting. This is because the Sena has currently a strength 88 members — 84 members and 4 Independents who have already pledged their support to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, as against the BJP’s strength of 86 (82 members of its own plus four Independents).
As a consequence, Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis is under tremendous pressure from both the Opposition and Sena to give up BJP’s claim over the Mayor’s post in the BMC and toe the Sena line on two counts.
First, the Sena will walk away with the Mayor’s post in the event of a contest with the BJP. Secondly, the Sena may consider voting against the Stage Government in the no-confidence motion likely to be brought by the Congress-led Opposition in the State Assembly, in the event of the BJP not supporting the Sena candidate unconditionally in the BMC polls.
In an apparent effort to goad the ruling Congress (which has a strength of 31 members in the newly elected 227-member BMC) into supporting his party, Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut ridiculed the BJP’s stand that it would not seek the support of the Sonia Gandhi-led party, by saying, “The BJP says it does not seek the support of the Congress’ support. On the other hand, the BJP has no qualms about not just aligning but also sharing power with a pro-Pakistani and pro-Afzal Guru party, like the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. If it thinks it is adopting a right approach, the BJP should say it would not align with the PDP as well.”
Asked specifically if the Sena would support the no-confidence motion to be brought in by the Congress-led Opposition in the State Assembly, Raut said, “Don’t focus much on what stand that the Sena will take in such a situation. We will not announce first and then act. Our action is always spontaneous.”
Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Narayan Rane said the Opposition would be in a position to defeat the BJP-led State Government in a no-confidence motion to be brought by the Opposition, if the Sena supports us. “For that the Sena should walk out of the State Government first. If that happens, the question of our bringing in a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led State Government does not arise. like I have been saying right from the beginning, the Sena will not give up power till it is thrown of the Government by the BJP,” Rane said.
Suggesting indirectly that his party would not be averse to supporting the Sena in the Mayoral polls, senior MNS leader and Raj Thackeray’s close aide Bala Nandgaonkar said, “Our party president will take a decision that will be in the interest of Mumbai and Marathi Manoos. Ultimately, Raj Thackeray will take a final call on extending support to the Sena or otherwise in the Mayoral poll”. The MNS has strength of 7 members in the BMC and if it supports Sena in the Mayoral polls, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party will have 95 votes in its kitty.
Though leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the Congress had said on Sunday that no discussion had taken place within his party and other Opposition parties so far on the issue of brining in a non-confidence motion against the Fadnavis Government, reliable sources in the Congress and NCP said the two parties would make all-out efforts to pull down the BJP-led Maharashtra Government during the forthcoming State Budget session.
The strategy of the Congress and NCP is two-pronged: the two Opposition parties will succeed in their attempt to bring down the Fadnavis Government, if the Sena either walks out of the Government prior to the trust vote or the Sena will stand exposed for not carrying out its oft-repeated threat of pulling the plug on the Government if it votes in favour of the confidence motion.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Fadnavis cancelled the weekly State Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday, as he does not want any friction to take place between the BJP and Sena Ministers in the backdrop of the exchange of barbs and trading of charges and counter witnessed between the leaders of the two parties in the run-up to the BMC polls and the lack of any understanding between them over power-sharing arrangement in the Mumbai civic body.