In a new dimension to the rebellion-triggered crisis within the ruling Shiv Sena, the Sena’s breakaway rebel faction leader Eknath Shinde has established contact with MNS chief Raj Thackeray apparently with an eye on the emerging political situation in general and forthcoming elections to Brihanmumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Aurangabad in particular.
Informed sources within the MNS camp said that Shinde telephoned Raj twice during the last few days to enquire about his health and also discuss the political situation in the State.
Raj — who was discharged from Lilavati Hospital on June 25 after a hip replacement surgery and has been keenly observing the political developments during the last one week — spoke to Shinde at length on both the occasions.
Despite the fact that the MNS has just one MLA in the State Assembly, its importance should be seen in the light of the fact that it is an established regional political party with an election symbol (that of a railway engine) and a decent base in the urban areas of the State.
The telephonic interactions should be seen in the light of the fact that it will take some time before Shinde registers a new party and gets an election symbol of his own and at some stage, he might consider a proposal to merge his outfit with an established political party.
Going by the available indications, the Shinde-led rebel Sena faction — which claims to enjoy the support of 39 out of the total 55 Sena MLAs in the State — will eventually join hands with the Opposition to form a government in the State.
Apart from sharing power with the BJP in the State, the Shinde faction wants to expand its base in Mumbai, neighbouring Thane, Navi Mumbai and other parts of the State. In pursuit of expanding its base, the Shinde faction needs the help of the MNS which Raj Thackeray — an erstwhile Shiv Sena leader — founded on June 9, 2006 after staging a rebellion against his cousin and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, and resigning from the Shiv Sena.
The MNS won as many as 13 out of the 288 seats in the 2009 Assembly polls. The MNS won won 28 seats in the 2012 BMC polls, as against the 75 seats won by the Sena and 32 seats won by its ally, the BJP.
It may be recalled that the BMC polls held in 2017 had thrown up a hung house. The Shiv Sena had emerged as the single largest party with 84 seats in the 227-member BMC, followed by BJP- 82, Congress- 31, NCP- 9, MNS- 7 and others-14. During the first two and a half years in power, the Shiv Sena increased its strength to 94 by inducting among others seven corporators from the MNS.
The MNS’ importance should be seen in the context of the fact that the Opposition BJP has been cosying up to Raj Thackeray with an eye on the BMC polls scheduled to be held in September-October 2022.
No wonder that even the rebel Sena camp is getting closer to the MNS for its own reasons.